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Restaurant Review: La Cicala

Apr 24th, 2012 by

La Cicala on 49 Club Street

Yet another tapas joint I thought we would try out. Situated on the pretty cool and understated Club Street which makes a nice change away from the touristy Quays. Prices were good, service was very good, food was very nice, wine was…okay! There was a good deal on 6 tapas for $68. It seems to be a busy place as all tables were reserved and we got one of the few two seaters on a high table.

Food pics! It was pretty gloomy inside so not the best quality.


A tortilla clasica which is a classical Spanish omelette with potatoes & onions. Reports were that it was tasty!


Seasonal grilled green & white asparagus with saffron ali-oli, and
manchego cheese. This was a nice light and refreshing dish in contrast with more creamy rich dishes we ordered.


A lovely tomato soup which although small, seemed to last forever!


Our waiter was very attentive and put the crispy chorizo to the side of the patatas bravas so our vegetarian could enjoy the potatoes.


The aforementioned patatas bravas. Quite heavy going but quite tasty.


pollo vino blanco. Sauteed organic chicken with garlic, shallots & white wine sauce. Doesn’t look exceptionally good but trust me it was.


pan con tomate. Toasted country bread served with fresh tomato & extra virgin olive oil. This was one of the first dishes to come out and we had to compare it to Octapas’ dish which was just done…wrong. La Cicala wins this one hands down.


The last dish I got; Albondigas, char grill slow broiled iberic pork ball. Was a bit dry in my opinion but tasty and a nice way to finish off our meal in La Cicala.

The bill!

Overall a very nice meal and would go back and reserve a nice low table and a bit more comfortable surroundings. 8.5/10.

 

 

 

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Andy Warhol Exhibit

Apr 15th, 2012 by

Included on our Titanic exhibit was admission to the Andy Warhol exhibition. I’ll admit, I’m not a fan of his (I’m sure he’s not too keen on me either) but there’s no doubt he holds an important place in art history and popular culture.

It’s an exhibit in which you get to see a lot of his early work, including some normal looking sketches. It leaves me wondering though, could he actually paint/sketch or was his style purposefully “poppy” and loose. If you saw some of his sketches up on the wall of a high school you wouldn’t give it a second look. It’s what he did later on that set the world alight with Warhol worship. You have some of the usual suspects here; Campbell’s Soup cans, some Marilyn Monroes and a number of other prints along the same lines. One series I had never seen before which caught my eye was the “Endangered Species” collection. I actually quite enjoyed seeing something of his I liked from the first moment I saw it. Here are a few of them (from the net, as yet again we were not allowed to photograph his work, which was bizarrely ironic).

My fav!

 

The thing about a Warhol exhibition (I saw one in Düsseldorf, Germany years ago) is that you’re really not seeing the brushstrokes and getting a sense that the artist toiled over this piece I’m standing in front of. No, instead, you’re getting another print of the original of a print. Or something like that. Although, my sense of personality and connection towards Warhol’s piece is exactly what he set out to do!

Anyway, I wouldn’t have been sad I missed it but as with any art exhibit if you see something you like (and I did) then you didn’t really waste your time. This is the second exhibit I’ve caught here in Singapore and I hope more are on their way.

 

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Titanic Exhibition

Apr 14th, 2012 by

99 years and 364 days ago the R.M.S. Titanic struck an iceberg, sunk, and 1,514 people perished.

So it was with this jolly thought we went along to the Titanic exhibit at Marina Bay Sands to look at dead people’s belongings and bits of the doomed ship that have been dredged up from two and half miles under the Atlantic Ocean.

 

Arriving early in the morning to beat the crowds, we were met by…a crowd. But it was manageable as I had pre-booked and collected tickets the day before using something called the internet. Jumping the ticket buyers line we joined another line to get in. At this point you’re handed an embarkation card of a real life person who was on board the Titanic. You find out at the end if you lived or died. Macabre. Click for bigger.

 

 

 

 

I was a first class Mexican passenger. Male. Even though I was first class and I was going to enjoy all the trimmings I knew I was most likely doomed.

Anyway, we skipped the waayy too cheerful group photo that each group of “passengers” were being steered towards (we’re museum experts!) and started the somber jaunt. No photos were allowed which was weird as I’m pretty sure a couple of decades under the ocean will do more damage than a quick camera flash! Artifacts that were there included mechanical parts, jewellery, clothing, cutlery, and various nick-nacks. Some areas of the exhibition were made out to be parts of the ship which was eerie. You walked along the 1st class corridor with rooms on each side, the grand staircase (where again you could get a photo taken for a price), 3rd class corridor and also a recreation of the promenade which was strangely disconcerting. Leaning on the promenade railing looking out on to a dark curtain of twinkling stars above an ocean effect was a strange experience.

It was a fascinating albeit short exhibition, you kind of have to step back and really imagine the artifacts on board the Titanic and when you do it has its desired effect. The exhibit closes on April 29th.

Some pictures from our saunter around the Raffles Place MRT in the brutal midday Singaporean sun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Return to The Banana Leaf

Apr 4th, 2012 by

One of our first posts on here was about The Banana Leaf so I was happy to go back when I was at Sim Lim Square (it’s a short walk, even via limping). It’s an Indian restaurant and is a big hit with the local Indian population so that’s always a good sign.


Shock of the night! There were no banana leaves left so it was all very artificial and formal with this poor plastic representative!


Some spicy mutton to start with. Spicy it certainly was but very tasty. Fact of the day: mutton is just an adult sheep. Did not know. It’s the following morning as I type and I can still taste this. It leaves a lasting impression.


Some tasty saffron rice to cool down my mouth.


Fantastic butter chicken. So very delicious.


Some lightly curries potatoes and cauliflower (I forget the Indian name). Those little green leaves are coriander (cilantro), and  it’s the only land-mine I have to avoid in Indian restaurants. Hate it!


Probably the bast tasting garlic naan I’ve ever had, a great curry mopper-upper


A great combination. I used cutlery more this time rather than my fingers due to the fact I had a plate!

All washed down with a Kingfisher (their airline isn’t doing too good so I hope their beer is okay!). I’ll be back!

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Earth Hour in Singapore

Mar 31st, 2012 by


The view from our balcony at 20:04pm, waiting anxiously for the spectacle of a couple of dozen high-rise buildings plunging into darkness along the lines of the closing scenes from Fight Club (without the explosions)


21:04pm. No it’s not the same picture. Boo Singapore!


Most of our neighbors didn’t bother either..

I suppose if governments don’t get on their citizens’ backs about it then nobody will really take it seriously anyway. Our apartment was in darkness I assure you! And it wasn’t just because all our curtains are at the dry cleaners and we don’t want people to see us shuffling around in our smoking jackets.

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New GPU, CPU and HD: Mission Successful!

Mar 31st, 2012 by

After a great string of emails between myself and Harrison from Cybermind, I headed to Sim Lim to pick up my goodies.

I left with a Seasonic Platinum 1000W Power Supply, an Asus GTX 680 graphics card, a WD Black 2Tb hard drive, and an external hard drive for our laptops. I won’t say how much I paid for all of that as you would cart me off to a special place but I was happy with Cybermind, their customer service and the whole experience. I will use them again.

Some pics of assembly!


The killer 1000w power supply, I had only a 550w beforehand.


 The beast that is the Asus GTX680 graphics card!


Testing time! Vital not to put the power supply in just yet until everything is working.

I didn’t take any pictures of my new hard drive as it’s pretty boring. Runs very hot though I noticed..

And voila! The last pic before I closed up the case. Graphics card at home I hope for years to come.

Now to get testing it all out!

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A Mission To Sim Lim Square (Prelude)

Mar 29th, 2012 by

A computer breaking down is always a disaster for me…..especially when it’s my gaming PC!! I think a combination of my hard drive and my graphics card gave up about a week ago. I had already gone to Sim Lim checking out prices a few months ago but the floods in Thailand were causing havoc with the prices.

In Singapore, if you know what you want to buy, you go to Sim Lim Square. It’s hardcore but you should get what you’re looking for. I started off my professional career building computers so I know how to take apart and insert new…thingies…but times have progressed so prices and what’s hot are going over my head these days.


Sim Lim Square is closest to Little India MRT stop and even then it’s about a 10 minute walk. I usually grab a taxi.


They say the higher you go the less ripped off you get!

There are many horror stories about tourists getting ripped off in Sim Lim and with my cynical hat on, I don’t doubt it. But all the companies I’ve wandered into and talked to have their prices lists up front and printed out so it’s pretty hard to fall for anything but, as always, caveat emptor.

So I pretty much need a graphics card, a hard drive and a new power supply to power the new graphics card! It gets expensive quick. And it made it harder as there is a new graphics card just been released in the market. I did my hunting today and yesterday to see if any of the little Sim Lim companies had an online presence (I value Facebook accounts, Twitter accounts and an informative website highly). Two or three had good websites with up to date price lists but one had a good Facebook account and slightly cheaper hardware: Cybermind. I am going in to chat with them tomorrow as they have a brand spanking new Geforce GTX 680 graphics card…slobber.. I have resorted to the fact that you don’t get really cheap hardware in Singapore, you just don’t but if you do some hunting at the very least you’ll get good customer service and maybe a few dollars off a deal. We’ll see tomorrow!

To be continued….hopefully on my successfully lobotomized PC…

 

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Restaurant Reviews: Wine Connection

Mar 29th, 2012 by

Wine Connection have a vast percentage of the property down in Robertson Walk in Roberston Quay. Their newest venture is a Tapas joint in the main square (yeah another tapas place we went to!).

Our chowdown didn’t start off too well. They were out of wines we had picked out and had not got the beef dish I wanted. This was early Tuesday evening. Oh well, not one to complain (out loud) we amended our choices. We noticed early on that each dish was only $5 and we’re pleasantly surprised. Then the dishes came out and the servings were not the most generous.

Patatas Bravas. Um, potatoes with mayo. As it looks. Tasted just okay. There were about 15 of them.

The dish we had to send back. On the menu they are named “rice balls with cheese”. That’s it. So the vegetarian amongst us orders it and then notices some oddly cubed pieces of food matter. I took one for the team and ate one. Yeah that’s ham. Quick confirmation from the waiter and we had to get a replacement of cheese croquettes. I didn’t take a picture, they were that boring.

The motley crew.

BBQ Sausages. They were luke warm and reminded me of German breakfast sausages. They would have been nice if they were hot.

Chicken Satay. Only two pieces. I scoffed them in a second. Tasty though!

I had a Reisling which was quite nice.


The bill! Click for bigger if you so wish. Yeah it was cheap but we left hungry and went wandering into Clarke Quay in search for more sustenance!

Overall, 5/10, they need to sort out their stock levels (!) and get the description of the cheese balls correct!

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A “Wicked” Night Out

Mar 28th, 2012 by

I bought two tickets for Wicked last week as one of us wanted to go see it…not me. But, I thought, it couldn’t be that bad. The venue is The Marina Bay Sands which just oozes upper class shopping and dining. So we went dining beforehand! A little research found that the DB Bistro Moderne run by Chef Daniel Boulud has a pre-theater menu at $58 a head for a two course meal (and a glass of plonk…I mean wine). Perfect if you don’t want to be a bloated mess before sitting through two hours and forty-five minutes of a musical.


A little aperitif arrived while I was zoned in on the menu so I didn’t hear what was in it but it was either salmon or tuna mixed with chives. Very tasty for the non-vegetarian to start off the meal.


Next up we both went for the Frisee Salad. One with Prosciutto and one without. It was during eating this that I found out I didn’t care much for Prosciutto! But the salad was excellent with a light dressing and quite a generous dollop of Fromage Blanc (a tasty white cheese) nestling on the bottom of the salad.


Main course for the meat eater. Steak Minute. Recommended by the waiter to be cooked medium and who was I to argue. It was delicious but the mashed potatoes were more like scalloped potatoes. I guess Michelin star chefs can call them whatever he wants. It was just right.


Homemade Potato Gnocchi was also a big hit, a litttlee bit of a small portion but that’s just nit picking. I had one, not my cup of tea, but the vegetarian gave two thumbs up.

So that was the theater pre-menu. A very nice way to start the night. Servers were friendly and helpful too may I add.

The bill!


It’s actually 48 per head for the food and 10 per head for the wine when you look at the bill.

Wicked!

I paid a bit extra to get good enough seats (but the not the very best, or I would be singing for my supper for a while) and we were pleased with our view. I snapped a quick pic of the stage before the show and risked the wrath of the ushers who were…ushering…patrons to put away their cell phones.

So did the non-musical fan enjoy Wicked? Yes, I did! It was a pretty darn good show! Funny, entertaining, visually stunning and the performers’ voices were just amazing. The time flew by and I find the songs still buzzing around my head a few days later. Story-wise the cynic in me (yes he likes to let himself be known every time) was a bit put off with the whole perfect ending scenario. I was feeling quite moved by what I thought was the ending before the “real” ending happened then I was like “Well that’s nice but a bit too Disney for me”.

Anyway, men of the world, drag your other halves to it if you get the chance muttering under your breath as you go but then sit back, relax and enjoy yourself for just under 3 hours of  entertainment!

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3 Strikes, I’m Out!

Mar 26th, 2012 by

Yayyyy, a visit to Tan Tock Seng again!! Yayyyy!

No.

I messed up my ankle in a big way the day before St. Paddy’s Day playing football. I had missed football very much and in only my second game back I was feeling great and playing in an unfamiliar role at left back. I really don’t remember anything happening apart from a goal saving sliding tackle I did in the first half. I must have wrenched my ankle BIG time doing it.  It was swollen for a few days after and I walked around on it without a care in the world. Then the swelling went down and bruises came to stay. And stay. And hurt immensely.

So I limped my way up the road to TTS to A&E and got some X-rays. Nothing broken but damage has been done. Continue to RICE (Rest, Ice, compress, and elevate) and wait for the horns of heaven to blare when you can walk properly again. If you don’t like bruises and hairy legs don’t scroll down (if you’ve come through Facebook, sorry there probably was a thumbnail already haha!)….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


I don’t see these bruises leaving any time soon. I can basically walk on my toes or my heel but not both. Arghhh!

So the two Groupon codes I’ve taken advantage of have been put on…ice for the time being. I started a 10 lesson introduction to golf at a local driving range. I missed two already due to various things but now it looks like I won’t be going back. Strike that one off to bad luck.
I’ve also got a Groupon for a two hour session at one of those indoor golf “whack the ball at a computer screen” thingies which I will have to delay organizing too.

Life on one leg continues…

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