Chizza Party: KFC’s Latest Offering

BY STEFITH

I love fried chicken with all my heart, and I adore pizza with every bit of my shrivelled-up soul. And KFC has fused these two wonderful things together into a new dish on their menu- THE CHIZZA.

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This isn’t the first time I’ve heard, and gotten slightly over-excited about, the Chizza (which by the way, is a portmanteau of Chicken + Pizza, much like the names ‘Sarach’ and ‘Stefith’). I first came across it when I was trawling the Internet:

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At that point in time it certainly wasn’t available here, but it was available in Japan. And since my former-editor-who-is-now-a-content strategist (actually I have no clue what her current job title is) was going to Japan, I excitedly told her to try it because sharing is caring (but also because I was attempting to live vicariously through her).

But nothing beats being able to try it for myself, so when it rolled into town, I was SO HAPPY. I didn’t get a chance to eat it immediately when it first launched, and all the reviews online seemed to be pretty negative. Some people thought it was just quirky, others thought it was a total rip-off.

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Despite these reviews, however, the allure of a fried chicken base topped with tomato sauce, ham, cheese and pineapple was too great to ignore. So I went for it.

Verdict? A (borderline) yay! It’s nothing to shout about, but it’s still pretty darn tasty. It’s definitely a heart attack waiting to happen, but if you’re up for possibly clogging the arteries, this is a good place to start.

The chicken certainly looked smaller (and uglier) than in the promotional materials, and was about as big as my hand. The cheese claims to be a mix of mozzarella and the cheese sauce you get on KFC’s cheese fries, but it tasted more like the latter.

Ham is ham, tomato pizza sauce is tomato pizza sauce, and pineapples are pineapples, though I picked most of mine off (I don’t like pineapple).

Despite that, and the fact that it looks a little like it got a tad jostled en route from kitchen to tray, it was delicious. It was a bit greasy, but the meat was tender and succulent, with the crisp edge all fried chicken should have.

The pizza base is made from chicken breast, which tends to be quite dry, but this was moist and tasty. The flavours work well together, and it was certainly a nice change from the usual 2-piece chicken meal or Bandito Pockett.

Would I recommend trying it? Well, seeing as I’m considering having it again the next time I go to KFC, why not? It’s definitely an interesting idea, and worth giving a shot 🙂

The Chizza is available at all KFC outlets in Singapore, except for  KFC 632 Bedok Reservoir Road, Bukit Timah Plaza, KidZania, 261 Serangoon Central Drive, Sentosa and Singapore Zoo.

[Review] Marvelous Creatures And Where To Locate Them

BY STEFITH

…. or, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them.

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People who know me know that I’m a bit obsessed with the Harry Potter universe. I’m pretty obvious about it – my Secret Santa in the office got me HP-themed stuff for Christmas last year.

Recently, my obsession with it has been born anew – because I watched Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them. Starring Eddie Redmayne (who I totally have a celebrity crush on), Fantastic Beasts is the first of a five-part film series that serves as a prequel to the events of the main Harry Potter story. The film chronicles the adventures of Newt Scamander, a British magizoologist with a suitcase full of magical creatures. He arrives in New York, and some of these creatures get loose – resulting in a whole chain of events.

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Fantastic Beasts sheds light on the Wizarding World prior to the adventures of Harry and his friends – taking place in the 1920s, it occurs during the era of the rise of Grindelwald, a powerful dark wizard who plays an important role in the life of resident Yoda, Albus Dumbledore. To be fair, this film didn’t reveal much plot-wise about Grindelwald or even about Newt’s past – but it does set the stage and creates question to (hopefully) be answered in the films to come.

You don’t need to have seen the previous films or know what’s happening in the wizarding universe to enjoy and understand Fantastic Beasts (a fact that delights Sarach immensely), but if you’re a long-time fan like me, you’ll be able to catch some references and clues hidden throughout the movie.

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For me, the loveliest thing about Fantastic Beasts is the acting. Eddie Redmayne does a spectacular job as the awkward, earnest Newt Scamander, who is clearly more comfortable with his beasts than with other humans. He wears his heart on his sleeve and just wants people to understand magical creatures – a rare breed of hero in the sense that he’s far softer and kinder than most.

Katherine Waterston plays Tina Goldstein, and visibly portrays how Tina chafes at her limitations and is a by-the-book cop, while Alison Sudol does an amazing job as Tina’s sister, Queenie, hiding a razor sharp mind between a vapid exterior.

Dan Fogler plays friendly Muggle (or No-Maj, in America) Jacob Kowalski, who wants nothing more than to open up his own bakery (but instead gets dragged into this magical world), and Ezra Miller wrenches our hearts open as poor orphan Credence Barebone.

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The beasts featured in the film are adorably heartwarming as well – from a Niffler that manages to squeeze several pounds of jewellery into his tiny belly, to a Demiguise playing babysitter to an Occamy, the antics they get up to are hilarious. Much like the silly dog that gets stuck in a fence, or the cat that insists on following you everywhere like a stalker, the titular fantastic beasts are a sheer delight.

If you’re looking for a film to welcome December that has a mix of adventure, humour and even some romance, watch Fantastic Beasts. And if you just want to watch a handsome man run around chasing animals for two hours, that’s fine too. No judgement.

The Cheese Tart Taste Test

BY SARACH

The fad of cheese tarts has reached the shores of Singapore, with the latest BAKED opening at Westgate for all the Westies like myself to enjoy.

The Straits Times did a mini review on which is the real baked cheese tart and included the newly opened in September Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tarts in Jurong Point. At first, I was confused as to which is the actual one, but fret not, I shall present to you the ultimate Cheese Tart Taste Test.

My boyfriend has a keen sense of taste and high expectations for his food which is why I decided to make him try out the tarts. In addition, he gets to exercise everyday in army (unlike me) and has not tried any of the cheese tarts prior to this test – making him almost perfect for it!

I decided to test out four tarts: Baked Cheese Tarts, BreadTalk, Cake History and, well, I decided why not try to make one? So I included a homemade one as well.

I got the recipe from blog, Dreamer’s Loft, and she has already experimented with all sorts of cheese, flour, what works and what doesn’t. It’s also one of the few recipes that got onto the Michelin Guide website so I thought I might as well try it out! The recipe was really easy to follow and ingredients relatively easy to find as well, although you might want to head over to Phoon Huat for slightly cheaper products.

Alright, enough random talking – here is the verdict! As pictured, I named them A, B, C, D according to how I perceive them to rank with D being the worst and also my half-burnt tarts… And here’s what he thought of the tarts:

D – Homemade: Why this one so small?? Salty, probably because of the cream cheese. Actually, quite salty, almost savoury, not sweet at all. Can taste and see the burn of the tarts – this one is a failure!

B – BreadTalk: Very sweet, can taste the creaminess of the cheese. The mousse is light, almost like a custard. The pastry is soft, keeps breaking apart. Overall, not too bad and they’ve got the texture right. (BreadTalk also carries a Golden Lava Cheese Tart which we thought was quite interesting and not too salty.)

C – Cake History: Looks wise, this is like the typical cake shop tarts. Pastry is very soft but dry. The mousse is very sweet like the previous one, but the texture is almost chalky, like a New York cheesecake. Although it is soft and light, the texture is not quite on par with the previous one. I would say this is like a cheese cake tart.

A – Baked: This is pretty good, there’s a slight saltiness, but it is very well balanced. The crust is crispy and a little hard. The mousse definitely tastes like cheese, but it is not too strong. Overall, a very good balance.

Okay, after saying that D was a failure and telling me that it “looks like something you would make!”, I had to break it to him. 😂 Hey, it’s the first time I’m trying!

Actually looks not that bad… Right?

I had to agree with him on the verdict though – Baked Cheese Tarts were the best. I’ve also tried the Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tarts from Jurong Point and did not like their pastry as much – I thought it was too hard and crispy for my liking and the cheese mousse was not as flowy as those of Baked. The ultimate verdict for me would be Baked, Hokkaido, BreadTalk, Cake History then my homemade ones. The recipe said to add salt if needed, and I think I added a little too much at the last minute. I would definitely want to try baking them again though!

BAKED Cheese Tarts
Address: B4-33 Ion Orchard and B2-04 Westgate, 3 Gateway Drive
Price: $3.50 each, $19.50 for a box of 6. Customers can only buy up to 12 tarts. 
Opening Hours: 10am to 10pm
Tips: Expect long queues, but I went slightly after 10am and there were none! They also allow you to “inspect” your tarts before purchase. 

Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tarts
Address: 1 Jurong West Central 2, #B1-K2 Jurong Point
Price: $2.90 each; $14.50 for a box of 6
Opening Hours: 10am to 10pm
Tips: Not to be mistaken for the Baked cheese tarts – these hail from Malaysia by the Secret Recipe group. 

BreadTalk / The Icing Room
Address:The Icing Room –  B1-105 Jurong Point and B2-58 NEX; BreadTalk shops – B1-11 Paragon and B2-31 313@Somerset; Bread Society – B4-08 Ion Orchard; Toast Box – B1-167 Suntec City
Price: $2.40 each; 4 for $8.80, for both original and golden lava flavours
Opening Hours: Various timings

Cake History
Address: Located at various MRT stations such as – Boon Lay, Toa Payoh and Bukit Batok Stations 
Price: $2.20 each
Opening Hours: Various timings

Cheesy Hotpot Goodness @ Hook On Steamboat

BY STEFITH

One rainy Tuesday evening in October, when it was absolutely chucking it down, I dragged my butt all the way to Kembangan (from NUS, which is like in Clementi) to meet my friends for dinner.

Why the heck did you guys feel the need to go all the way to the East, you may ask.  Isn’t there good food nearer to Central, you wonder. Yes, there’s plenty of good food in the Orchard/Somerset/Dhoby area, and we eat there a lot. However, we went all the way to Kembangan for one thing – CHEESY HOTPOT.

Tucked away in the landed properties near Kembangan MRT station, Hook On Steamboat blends in with the zhichar restaurant next door and the coffee shops around it. But it’s home to the most decadent hotpot experience you’ll ever have – one filled with cheese. I didn’t take a lot of photos because I was too busy eating, but it was SO GOOD.

I know it sounds horrifyingly rich, but think of it as more of a cheese fondue than anything else. You’re not actually cooking anything in the cheese – you cook the meat/fish/ insert food item of your choice on the grill around the hotpot, and once that’s done, dip it in the melted, gooey goodness for a cheesy twist. And when you’ve gotten a little sickly from all the cheese, feel free to request for them to change your hotpot to more traditional soup bases, like tom yum or chicken and corn.

look at the gooey cheese

Hook On Steamboat deserves credit for being incredibly innovative and value-for-money. Their hotpots are $22.90++ per person ($19.90 per person from Tue – Thu). They also have a fancier option which costs more, featuring items like abalone, but let’s be real – you probably don’t want to dip that in cheese.

For an additional $4.90, you can get free flow canned drinks and ice-cream. They’ve also got a beer promo of 8 pints for about $30+ bucks – we didn’t drink the night we went there, but I assure you, we were tempted.

Upon arrival, we got a table and one of the staff explained to us how the entire process worked. He was super patient and really clear, so there wasn’t any confusion about what we could order. We went with their regular Deluxe option, and being greedy, ordered just about one of everything on the menu. All their hotpot options are free flow, so you can have as many plates of chicken and fish and meatballs as your stomach can handle.

All their food is crazy fresh, and whether you dip it in cheese or not, it tastes amazing. I definitely recommend the bulgogi chicken, sambal squid, and scallops, because those were especially fantastic. We liked the sambal squid so much, we ordered a mountain of it.

They also have an impressive selection of fishballs, meatballs, sausages, and even some weird sea urchin balls that looked positively radioactive. I didn’t eat one, but my friend Ashley reports that it was good.

See the yellow pinwheel thing in the corner? That’s the sea urchin ball (Photo by Ashley)

We were a table of five, so we had two hotpots to share between us. We had three rounds of cheese in total, two rounds of chicken and corn soup, and one round of tom yum to end off the meal. The food did arrive in bits and pieces, but that’s fine, because it meant we never hit a point where there was a dearth of food at the table.

In terms of ice-cream options, they have the usual chocolate and vanilla, but I went for “gummy”, which was a vibrant blue and pink concoction with GUMMY SWEETS INSIDE. I didn’t take a photo of it, but I assure you, it was excellent.

I also want to give a special mention to their staff – they were efficient and helpful, and also really patient with us. We dropped one pair of tongs and two pairs of chopsticks, and kept asking for ice and accidentally burnt out one pot of soup, but they always replaced it for us. They were also really helpful, checking in on us to see if there was anything we needed.

With great food, excellent service, and amazing prices, Hook On Steamboat is worth the Journey to the East for. My only quibble is that their indoor seating is pretty smoky, and could do with better ventilation – do sit outside if you can. We sat indoors to prevent our cheese hotpot from becoming cheese soup in the storm, but while it did get a little smoky it wasn’t too bad.

Looking for a mookata-esque experience with a bit of a twist? You know where to go.

Hook On Steamboat
Address: 389 Changi Road, Singapore 419838
Opening Hours: 5pm – 12am
Tel:  6844 0389
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Non-Entrée Desserts: An Avalanche of Flavours

BY SARACH

Non Entrée Desserts recently captured everyone’s attention again – not for their famous Instagram-worthy Avalanche treats, but for some Singaporean savoury desserts.

HUH? Savoury and desserts? Yes, and it might seem a little weird but I assure you that this combination does make your mind blow for a while.. At least mine did.

My boyfriend and I went there on an unassuming, warm Thursday afternoon, perfect to grab some cold treats at a quaint cafe. I’m usually not one to go on an impromptu adventure but this was how it went: he sends link of some article that featured some interesting food, I go WOW, he wants to try, my sweet tooth says okay and off we went.

We tried three different desserts and I must say that all the desserts and drinks are quite Instagram-Boomerang-worthy. They all look so cute and out there to make your feed pretty and tempt others to want to try. So here’s what we had:

Bak Chor Mee ($14.90): Part of the Back To The Future series, this dessert really looks like your hawker center Bak Chor Mee. But once in the mouth, the coldness and sweetness kind of shocks you because it’s so unexpected! This dish is all about textures: the slight crunch of the sesame snow “minced meat”, ice cream “fish”ball, springy mango “noodles”. Bursts of flavors from tang of raspberry “chili sauce” and mango, sweetness of sea coconut and ice cream make it all like an explosion in your mouth! It looks so unassuming but it definitely plays around with experimental flavours. I’m not sure if the flavours are well balanced as I feel as if there’s something missing. I could be a little biased as I don’t like sea coconut which was the “mushroom”. However, my boyfriend loves it though and thought it was amazing how it plays mind tricks on those consuming it. I had to take a while to adjust and tell myself I was eating something sweet – it can really be a mentally draining eat but if you love it, go all out!

Matcha Avalanche ($13.90): This was what everyone initially came here for right?! It was a must-try for me and we took a while before deciding to get the Matcha one. They recently added Horlicks as part of the Back To The Future series but I decided we should try something that was already on the menu. Unlike the previous dessert, this is considered “safe”, with flavours that already naturally go well with each other: matcha, chocolate, vanilla, caramel bits. The warmth of the cake in contrast to the cold ice cream, is always a winning combination. It also has a pleasant texture with the crunch of the “sand” and caramel biscuit on top.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLqgdgtjZaK/?taken-by=sarah_jello_pie

I really loved this dessert, not just because of the flavours, but the novelty of it! It’s something you can’t get anywhere else with the lava cake flowing down to your little “garden”, and then you attacking it with your spoon and munching it all down. The waiters even tell you how to go about “erupting” your cake volcano and making an avalanche of it. I would definitely go back for more.

Rubber Ducky ($12.90): You can’t just stop at two right? One look at this dessert and it really brightens up your day! It’s almost filled with sunshine and smiles that it really brings back the old times of having a rubber ducky in the pool or shower. It even comes in a bath tub and soap bubbles! This dessert is all about refreshing flavours from the tang of the lemon sorbet and mango puree. The creme fraiche pudding was good as well and paired well with everything else. My boyfriend even mentioned that it tastes like what Mama Lemon might taste like – that’s how strong the lemon taste and smell was! A really cute dessert that is just full of freshness, something you would want on a hot and sunny day!

We also tried the Ribena Lemonade (+$6 for Themed Drinks) to complete our “meal”, and it was refreshing as well! It had ice cream in it which made really pretty swirls until we drank them all up. Don’t worry, they serve water as well!

The ambiance of the place was really cool. It has a vintage feel, friendly and chill vibe – they were even playing old songs! Although it might be a bit more on the pricey side for desserts, I feel that it is really worth the experience and great for an amazing sweet treat. I thought it was perfect for a quick Thurs-date in the hot afternoon. We’ll definitely want to go back again, but heads up, it might get crowded over the weekends!

Non Entrée Desserts
Address: 204 Rangoon Road, Singapore 218451
Nearest MRT: Farrer Park 
Opening Hours: (Tue – Thurs) 2pm–10pm, (Fri) 2pm–11pm, (Sat) 12noon–11pm, (Sun) 12noon–10pm, Closed on Mondays
Facebook: facebook.com/nonentreedesserts

No Day But Today: RENT The Musical

BY STEFITH

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Five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes~

I’m currently having post-musical withdrawal syndrome, as I always do after a brilliant performance, and the soundtrack has been looping on my Spotify repeatedly, because I watched RENT and it was amazing.

Brought to you in Singapore by Pangdemonium, RENT is the story of a group of struggling artists living in New York City in the 1980s. Narrated by aspiring filmmaker Mark Cohen, it trails the ups and downs of the lives of him and his friends – many of whom are HIV positive.

The entire plot is available for reading on Wikipedia (and the musical has been around since 1996), so I’ll spoil some plot points in this post. You’ve been warned. 

Prior to watching the performance, I had only ever seen the film version, which, while fantastic, doesn’t have the grandeur of the musical. I was really excited to watch it, and it was worth every penny. The cast was A++, and the performers really did justice to their characters and to the story.

Benjamin Chow (who was Lim Chin Siong in ‘The LKY Musical’) takes on the role of Mark, and Tabitha Nauser (of Singapore Idol fame) plays Mimi, the exotic dancer. The chemistry between Nauser and Cameron MacDonald, who plays Roger, is positively electric- Roger and Mimi have a very tumultuous relationship, and they portrayed it beautifully.

It’s a very emotionally charged musical, and I’ll admit it – I cried when Angel (played spectacularly by Aaron Khaled) died. The absolutely tragic reprise of ‘I’ll Cover You’, with Juan Jackson singing Collins’ absolutely wrenching solo, will make you cry, and I’m quite sure I wasn’t the only person in the audience shedding tears.

The real beauty of the musical is the cycle of emotions it puts you through, how the characters, many of whom are knocking on death’s door, handle their circumstances, and spotlights certain worries many of us may never voice, like Mark’s fear that he’ll be left behind after his friends die from AIDS. It reminds us to treasure all the time we have, to fight for what we believe in, and to forget our regrets, to seize the moment – no day but today, after all.

You’ll laugh and you’ll cry, and they’ll tug on your heartstrings. The stellar performance is absolutely ace, and not something I can adequately put into words, so seriously, catch it if you can.

RENT is running at the National Library’s Drama Centre Theatre from 7 – 23 October. Note that the show is rated R18 and some shows have already been sold out! Get your tickets from SISTIC – seriously, it’s a show worth watching.

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caught this afternoon's matinee performance of RENT by #pangdemonium, it was absolutely amazing. 11/10 would recommend – it's an excellent show and worth every cent. 📷: @therealnostalgiccomplex

A post shared by Stefanie J. Yeo (@clandestineyeo) on Oct 8, 2016 at 9:03am PDT

 

What to expect: Night Fest 2016!

BY SARACH

People say Singapore is a city that never sleeps. Couldn’t agree more especially with the Singapore Night Festival this weekend and next.

The Night Fest is an annual event where they feature exhibits, performances and really interesting installations that always leave me awestruck. What I love about it more is the whole “festival” feel and seeing the city all lit up and vibrant at night!

I headed down yesterday for the first day of the Night Fest to catch the excitement. The whole Bras Basah – Bugis area was bustling with people, if not for after work dinners and the festival. It was a really pretty sight. This year’s festival theme, in it’s ninth edition, is about Inventions.

Some disco lights near the Festival Village

Initially, I wanted to go to the House of Curiosities, one of the main features of this year’s festival. It features a performance in what I thought would be an enclosed exhibit as it was a ticketed event ($15 per ticket/$12 for concession excluding Sistic fee). It’s on the field opposite The Cathay and I was slightly disappointed that it was pretty open. From opposite, I was able to kinda watch the performance and it didn’t seem as exciting as I hoped it was. If you’ve gone there, do prove me wrong!

Otherwise, most of the events are free of charge (yay!). There are  different zones you can wander about. I would recommend going to the main Festival Village at SMU first to orientate yourself by grabbing a festival booklet. From there, you may choose where you want to go! You can also stay there for performances, by the NOISE mantees for this week, and food ranging from churros to fish and chips.

The museums are opened, or at least available for some sort of light show outside. There are street performances at the Peranakan Museum, a really interesting light show at SAM about “Journey”, stick man lights at the National Museum. These offer a different feel about museums, almost like a Night at the Museum come alive!

Although I must say I really liked this one particular installation at the Armenian Church. I was so amazed! The lights on the trees are not only synced to the music, it’s playing, but there’s this console there for people to touch and the lights will adjust to the way the person is controlling it. What’s even more interesting is that the console / iPad thing, it is under water! Though I am not quite sure if there’s an added meaning to it, it was a really nice interactive installation that lights up the dark area.

I am obviously no expert in the different exhibits and what the night entails at this festival, but do check it out! I’ve been going for this festival for a few years now and it never fails to amaze me at what the various artists have worked hard for. And the night is still young for a city that never sleeps!

P.S. Loads of Pokemon to catch too, if you’re a Pokemon Goon (like me) or a Pokemon fanatic.

Ready, Set, Pokemon Go!

BY STEFITH

Sarach has blogged about her playing Pokemon Go (despite knowing nothing about the game), and let me just tell you that my heart stopped beating for a moment when she famously asked me:

Seriously Rah, don’t do this to me.

Now it’s time for me, the resident Pokemaniac, to talk about Pokemon Go. I’d have gotten this done earlier, but between starting uni, work, Schooling winning the Olympic gold, and me actually trying to catch ‘em all, I haven’t had time.

But now I do, and Pokemon Go is everything I’ve ever dreamed of.

I am way too invested in the game – every time I leave my house, it’s an opportunity to catch new Pokemon and pick up items from the PokeStops. This game brings all my childhood wishes to life – I always wanted to go on a Pokemon adventure, travelling to different places while catching Pokemon, and now, I can.

I’m not really big on battling Gyms (I’m in Team Mystic, by the way), and my Pokemon aren’t really strong enough yet anyway, so I’m focusing all my energy now on filling up my Pokedex. The most exciting thing I have at the moment, other than the Kabuto I hatched, is my Wigglytuff.

I also have all 3 Eeveelutions, so I’m very delighted:

Check out my Pokemon:

There’s a real thrill from catching a Pokemon with the first throw, or from finally capturing that Cubone that’s been lurking around your neighbourhood. There’s an exhilaration in taking down a Gym, or getting Eggs and Razz Berries from PokeStops. It’s a dream come true for everyone who grew up watching the cartoon and playing the games.

I get an adrenaline rush every time I explore a new area, swiping at PokeStops and throwing Pokeballs at Pokemon, and it definitely gets me out of the house – going to school seems a lot less dreary when there are PokeStops for you to farm on the way to class, y’know.

I also get really uncomfortable when people slam Pokemon Go, and put down people’s excitement or fascination with the game – do we insult your devotion to Arsenal? Or your obsession with EXO or Shinee?

I think as a society, we just need to be understanding and considerate, and agree to disagree most of the time. Plus, technology is ever-changing and growing: we need to embrace these new changes, because, for better or worse, they’re changing the landscape of our world.

Pokemon Go has taken Singapore by storm, and if you head to dense PokeStop locations like Chinese Garden or the rooftop at Vivo, you’ll find it swarmed with people. Now the real challenge for the game is this: how many people will keep on playing in a month, in six months, in a year? As it stands, I’m convinced I probably won’t stop until I’ve truly caught them all (if I ever do stop), but who knows.

Plus, I wonder what other updates Niantic can make to the game to add new dimensions to the game (like Johto Pokemon!!), and how Pokemon Go will set the stage for other location-based and augmented reality games in time to come.

In related news, I’ve written some articles about Pokemon Go for TheSmartLocal (my old and now occasional employer). I’ve got a how-to guide for newbies to the game, as well as a guide to PokeStop-rich places in Singapore.. There are more in the works, so keep your eyes peeled 😀

Have fun with Pokemon Go, y’all! Stay safe, be alert, and have fun. Who knows, I might see you while out hunting for my Dratini. Cheers!

The Pokemon Go(on)

BY SARACH

I think if y’all don’t know by now, I live under the rock Patrick Star lives under and I am a laggard in social psychology theory. Most of the time.

I’ve written about how I’ve never watched Star Wars until this year and has since finished all seven episodes (so good!!) and now I’ll be writing about Pokemon.

The craze has really gotten into me. I’ve never played Pokemon as a kid and only watched some of the shows which all ended with Pikachu saving everyone’s day and Nurse Joy helping the injured Pokemon. That’s as far as I remember…

However, Pokemon Go was something out of this world, almost literally, like it’s a mobile phone game that makes people get off their seats and also get out of the house which was really different than other games. Ah, the advances of technology!

It might also entice me to move more and maybe lose some extra calories.

My friends and I already created a group to go Pokemon hunting together and I obviously need a Senpai Trainer to help me hence the friends. And lo and behold, as I mentioned this morning at 8.30am that the game isn’t out yet and wondering if we needed to travel to UK to find Pokemon, my friend saw the app and started playing!

THE GAMES HAVE STARTED.

I quickly downloaded and created a trainer account and caught my first Charmander and started wandering around the house half asleep without glasses. As I sat on my sofa, I managed to catch two at the same spot. Not bad, I wondered, and started to search around the house. Within an hour, I managed to catch almost 10 just within my house alone and I’m like this is interesting!

I then went out to go to a Pokestop nearby the park and managed to get some more Pokeballs and caught like two more Pokemons. But as I spent the rest of the day indoors, I caught like so many more?! Most of them were Psyducks and Magikarps which lead to my friend to thinking that maybe my house is a nest for them.. Soon I realised I can even access the Pokestop in our living room!!

So far, the game hasn’t really led me out of the house, yet, but ultimately if I do want to catch them all, I’ll need to. Here’s my progress so far, with mostly just sitting on the same spot of the sofa that lead me to so many Pokemons.

Just remember to be aware of your surroundings! I can’t emphasise this enough, there has been accidents related to people playing the game! If you’re like me and oblivious to almost everything, it’s best to go with a friend who can keep an eye out for you when you’re hunting.

One more thing to take note, it does use up quite a lot of battery and data (or Wi-Fi). Played the game for half a day and half my battery was already gone. If you’re using data, just make sure to keep track of how much you’re using!

Also pro-tip from Stefith! She did loads of research for her article on TSL,  a great read for the curious ones! Check it here! There’s also a Straits Times article about the app too, if you would want to know more!

While Pokemon Go is a great way to bond with your friends and even make new ones, face-to-face fun and games are still always the best. Don’t lose out on amazing friendships while you catch all your Pokemon! In the meantime, good luck!

 

Curating with Mr Octopus

BY SARACH

I have just finished curating over on @hellofrmsg on Twitter! Stefith did hers some time ago, and she had a lot of fun while on it. So I decided to sign up for it since, well, life is boring and I needed something to do.

So that was when I signed up for it. Now that I actually have things to do, it was a little hard to tweet 24/7 and the people there understood the restrictions which were great.

Anyway, I had an absolutely wonderful time talking to people I don’t know and asking about their opinions on university, food and food. I also introduce Mr Octopus on the account.

Who is Mr Octopus?!?? I recently made him my travel companion after wanting to bring him to Lourdes/Paris, but then the sister decided against it. What if you lose him?! She said. So yeah.

Mr Octopus at Emerald Pool in Krabi

I got him on a cruise with Royal Caribbean a few years back which made him perfect for a travel companion as I got him while travelling. Krabi is his first trip, of which I talked about during my first official day of curating!

I moved on to discuss about university and food, of which the latter soon became a common topic where we all shared what we liked to eat and where to get them. Got a number of useful tips and places such as the minced pork noodles at xxx and truffle fries at Pungol. Also, I managed to get some cool ideas on baking with my nieces which I will blog about when it happens!!

Overall, I thought curating was fun, albeit some awkward moments and strange silence which I figured the topic was just not right for the day. It also taught me how to curate or choose certain topics for the crowd. The people who follow the account are generally older than I am (working adults) so what I talk about may not excite them too!

So here were some of the things I talked about in case yknow, you missed it and wanted to see them again.

1.Snorkelling in Krabi! 

It was absolutely amazing and we had such a great time looking at all the fishes! Talked to the Twitter people about the kinds of fish and one user even recommended his sister-in-law who is an instructor, about diving – something that I really want to do!

2. Little Mix concert!

Best concert experience ever, especially when we were seated so close! Then I decided that this was a great topic to talk about – what was your best concert experience. And I realised that my scope of musicians, or at least the ones I listen to, is smaller than I thought. I’ve never heard of most of the bands/singers they brought up and it was all good talk!

Jesy was injured so on a wheelchair, but show still goes on and she even came out to sing quite a number of songs! Forever grateful!!!

3. University woes

Got them talking about which uni to choose, and NUS FASS won by a truck load. Guess who is going there then (not that their votes counted a lot in the decision making but glad to be talking to them about it!)

4. Food, all kinds of food.

I thought my best tweet was “Does sound kinda sad but food is life and life without food is even sadder”. It is true though, should become my life philosophy or something. Anyway, I went to a few good eats this week including Huat Kee Teochew Restaurantwhich offered such amazing cold crab that you can easily pull the two pincers off like this: 

The Teochew steamed fish was so good, as always, and I love the gravy/soup with the sour plum. Other things to try includes the oyster omelette and of course, Orh Ngee which is yam paste dessert. It was an expensive meal but totally worth the occasion since my family decided to celebrate me graduating.

Another one is Crossings Cafe, located at Waterloo Street. Be sure to be there on Friday nights where Fr Paul States is your bartender. He makes two types of cocktails which are potentially potent if you can’t hold your liquor well. Get the Profiteroles if you’re looking for something sweet, $9 for 3, which has 3 scoops of ice cream!

Fr Paul doing his thing!

Creamier at Toa Payoh is also another place to go for desserts. All sorts of lovely flavours of ice cream are served, including Earl Grey Lavender, and my favourite, Sea Salt Gula Melaka. Waffles are amazing as well, and they come in stacks of two so you may want to add another scoop of ice cream!

My mother also made Sarawak Laksa which got people curious. She got a gravy pack from her Sarawakian friend and it was quite nice, though nothing like our local laksa! My guess is that she may have put too much water since the gravy/soup tasted bland without much depth in flavour as I expected. Nonetheless, tasted pretty good!

Home made Sarawak Laksa

There were loads of other places/food I tweeted about during the week but these were the top few that I really want to say again.

So hopefully my week on rotation curation wasn’t so bad, I did have a lot of fun and I hope the people had fun talking to me too! Anyhow, I hope I wasn’t a bore unlike what the boyfriend says.