1 Out of 7 Billion

1 Out of 7 Billion

The world is getting smaller everyday but a lifetime is not enough to explore it. My adventure starts in Singapore.

You can scroll the shelf using ← and → keys

Brunch that Made Me Skip Dinner

August 29, 2010 — 2 Comments

That’s Brunch 78 which happens 4x a year at the Ritz Carlton Singapore.

Elegant. Similar to the posh parties you see on "Gossip Girl"

The event is renowned for its 78-meter spread of culinary delights. I had (regular) Sunday brunch at the Ritz Carlton almost two years ago. I consider this as the biggest and the best one I’ve tried at the Ritz so far and anywhere else for that matter.

What do they offer?

  • Carving station
  • Cheese & Bread
  • Cold Cuts & Charcuterie
  • Salmon & Ceviche
  • Dessert station
  • Salad bar & Amuse Bouche
  • Fish Noodle
  • Oyster & Seafood Bar
  • Salad Bar
  • Ice Cream & Souffle
  • Fruit station
  • Danish Pastry, Juices, & Cereal
  • Egg Station
  • Japanese Station
  • Tapas bar
  • Local Roast & Foie Gras
  • Indian station
  • Hot Selections
  • Specialty Bread

Ok, ok. We need to learn something new everyday so a few definitions from epicurious.com :

  • Charcuterie – refers to the products, particularly (but not limited to) pork specialties which are made and sold in a delicatessen-style shop also called a charcuterie
  • Ceviche – an appetizer popular in Latin America consisting of raw fish marinated in citrus (usually lime) juice

With Ritz Carlton’s Executive Chef Arnaud Thulliez and honoured guest, 3 Michelin-starred Chef Michel Roux dishing out their skills, I knew I was in for a great adventure. Michel Roux is also the owner of The Waterside Inn in Berkshire, England and has received 35 culinary awards, distinctions and medals throughout his career.

Michelin stars?? Let’s look up Wikipedia.

The Michelin Guide is a series of annual guide books published by Michelin for several countries. The term refers to the Michelin Red Guide, the oldest and best-known European hotel and restaurant guide, which awards Michelin stars (highest being 3 stars)

1 star = very good restaurant in its category, worth a stop

2 stars = excellent cooking, worth a detour

3 stars = exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey

I invited Karen and Nat whom I have not seen for a long time. Good chance to catch up. Here’s our photo together with the chefs.

Me, Chef Arnaud Thulliez, Karen, Chef Michel Roux, Nat

While you are waiting to book seats when they have it again in October, here are several photos I took before we started eating.

Miss Universe 2010

August 22, 2010

The event happens on Monday night (USA) / Tuesday morning (Singapore).  Singapore telecast will be on Tue, 24 August, 9 AM over at Mediacorp Channel 5.

Every year, I am hoping that Miss Philippines lands a spot in the semifinals but there are always a lot of surprises in this type of competition. In the end, it really depends on the judges during the presentation show. (FYI, there is a different panel of judges during the finals night).

Anyway, here are a few photos from the swimsuit preliminary competition held last week which I picked up from the Miss Universe website.

Representatives of countries where I used to live and where I am living in right now.

Miss Philippines - Venus Raj

Miss Singapore - Tania Lim

Candidates of countries which won the Miss Universe title during the past 10 years. Venezuela and Puerto Rico won 2 years each.

Miss Dominican Republic - Eva Arias

Miss Australia - Jesinta Campbell

Miss Canada - Elena Semikina

Miss India - Ushoshi Sengupta

Miss Japan - Maiko Itai

Miss Panama - Anyoli Abrego

Miss Puerto Rico Mariana Paola Vicente

Miss Venezuela - Marelisa Gibson

Since a different set of “cheeks” were shown in the above photo  :p  , I thought I’d post her close-up shot. I think she will be a shoo-in for the semifinals.

Close Up Shot of Miss Venezuela - Marelisa Gibson

The pageant will be held in Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. If only I had the time, I would travel to Vegas, spend some dollars at the casinos, and catch the event.

Miss USA - Rima Fakih

Good luck to all candidates.

Blazing the Trail: 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Singapore

August 15, 2010

I decided to stay home on Saturday night to catch the opening ceremonies of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) hosted by Singapore.

The Youth Olympics will feature 3,600 athletes aged between 14 and 18 years competing in 200 events across 26 sports. The concept is a dream of International Olympic Committee, president Jacques Rogge, who has advocated the idea since 2001 after winning the IOC presidency.

The story behind the Opening Ceremony illustrates the parallels between Singapore and the Young Olympians – their struggles, hopes and dreams. The show celebrates Singapore’s origins and diversity, and offers a glimpse of the nation’s hopes for the future, drawing on all that Singapore has to offer in terms of art, culture and expertise.

The creative director for both opening & closing ceremonies is theatre director, actor and playwright Ivan Heng, while Cultural Medallion recipient Iskandar Ismail will be in charge of sound and music.

My view of the opening ceremonies? Impressive display of colors and creative use of fire and water. More importantly, it was a great showcase of Singapore’s capability as a modern nation to host an international event of this magnitude.

There are specific aspects of the show that I particularly liked :

Note: Unless otherwise stated, all photos posted courtesy of the Youth Olympic Games website and Singapore Youth Olympic Games photostream in Flickr

1) The use of a reflecting pool (90.5m by 50.1m in length)

2) The use of multimedia and special effects to enhance storytelling

The bigger opponent (appearing as a shadow) is part of the special effects in one of the segments

3) “Walking/running on water effect” before the Olympic flame was lit by Singapore teenage sailor Darren Choy

Photo courtesy of Tim Chong (http://www.flickr.com/photos/oeyvind/4891123181/)

Photo courtesy of AP / Wong Maye

Darren Choy – 2009 Byte CII sailing world champion and gold-medallist at last year’s Asian Youth Games, 2007 South-east Asian Games silver-medallist. His role as final torch bearer was a tightly guarded secret. He even had to rehearse at midnight wearing a cap the weekend before the event.

4) Spiral Olympic flame in a 32 meter cylinder / lighthouse structure which represents Singapore as a port city

Other photos from the Opening Ceremonies

Basic info on YOG which I picked up from The Straits Times (14 August 2010, page A16)

  • Singapore beat front runner Russia to host the Youth Olympics. One reason Singapore won is that it has never hosted an Olympic event before
  • 204 national Olympic teams will participate in the Youth Olympics
  • Because Singapore is the first host of the Youth Olympics, the livery of the Singapore 2010 logo will be featured in the ceremonial flag for subsequent handovers between future organisers
  • The next Youth Olympic Games will be held in Nanjing in 2014. China beat Poland by 5 votes, winning 47 to 42
  • Before Youth Olympics, there was the World Youth Games. Also organised by the International Olympic Committee, they were discontinued after the inaugural games in Moscow in 1998.

Other info on the YOG:

Medals (Silver, Gold, Bronze)

Lyo, a lion cub, embodies the values of Excellence and Friendship, while Merly, a merlion, personifies the values of Excellence and Respect.

Theme song (“Everyone”, sung by Sean Kingston, Tabitha Nauser, Steve Appleton, Jody Williams, Jessica Mauboy)

In-Flight Entertainment Discoveries

August 1, 2010

I’ve discovered a lot of good songs through Krisworld, the in-flight entertainment of Singapore Airlines. Here are two of them.

Let’s start with the slow, emo one…

“Temporary Home” (Carrie Underwood)

Little boy, 6 years old
A little too used to bein’ alone.
Another new mom and dad,another school,
Another house that’ll never be home.
When people ask him how he likes this place…
He looks up and says, with a smile upon his face,

“This is my temporary home
It’s not where I belong.
Windows and rooms that I’m passin’ through.
This is just a stop, on the way to where I’m going.
I’m not afraid because I know this is my
Temporary Home.”

Young mom on her own.
She needs a little help, got nowhere to go.
She’s lookin’ for a job, lookin’ for a way out,
Because a half-way house will never be a home.
At night she whispers to her baby girl,
“Someday we’ll find our place here in this world.”

“This is our temporary home.
It’s not where we belong.
Windows and rooms that we’re passin’ through.
This is just a stop, on the way to where we’re going.
I’m not afraid because I know this is our
Temporary Home.”

Old man, hospital bed,
The room is filled with people he loves.
And he whispers don’t cry for me,
I’ll see you all someday.
He looks up and says, “I can see God’s face.”

“This is my temporary Home
It’s not where I belong.
Windows and rooms that I’m passin’ through.
This was just a stop,on the way to where I’m going.
I’m not afraid because I know… this was
My temporary home.”

This is our temporary home.

Now here’s the track that can make you feel like jogging around the plane … You must really listen to it!

“Won’t Go Quietly” (Example)

I needed more than just a kiss goodnight
Had to go get something out my system I
Ignored the warnings, bit the fruit
She might have tasted good
But man she was my kryptonite

Shoulda known she was trouble from the start
I, knew she’d broken hearts I,
Thought I’d take that chance
Danced with the she devil in the pale moonlight
Alarm bells rang, but I loved the drama
In a dark place but I loved the karma sutra
Shoulda closed that door
But I kept going back for more

She’s electric, she’s the current running through my veins
She’s a siren, hearing voices that I can’t explain
Now I should be thinking it over
Instead I’m calling her over
Now she’s here and she won’t go quietly
I Should be thinking it over
Instead I’m calling her over
Now she’s here but she won’t go quietly

I needed more than just a cheap thrill ride
See I needed something that ran deep inside
Ignored the warnings, bit the fruit
She might have tasted good
But man she was my kryptonite

Shoulda known it wouldn’t last for a year I,
Knew it’d all end it tears I,
Cracked, she was mind addictive, never felt scripted
Upredicatable, tied up, but no strings attatched
Left scratch marks on my back
Her cold eyes got me excited and I can’t hide the truth

She’s electric, she’s the current running through my veins
(I just can’t kick the habit x2)
She’s a siren, hearing voices that I can’t explain
(I just can’t kick the habit)
Now I should be thinking it over
Instead I’m calling her over
Now she’s here and she won’t go quietly
I should be thinking it over
Instead I’m calling her over
Now she’s here and she won’t go quietly

Can’t see the end of this or who survives
It’s just another case of do or die
Can’t see the end of this or who survives
It’s just another case, another case, another case
Another case, another case…

She’s electric, she’s the current running through my veins
(I just can’t kick the habit x2)
She’s a siren, hearing voices that I can’t explain
(I just can’t kick the habit)
Now I, should be thinking it over
Instead I’m calling her over
Now she’s here and she won’t go quietly
I should be thinking it over
Instead I’m calling her over
Now she’s here and she won’t go quietly

Can’t see the end of this or who survives
It’s just another case of do or die
Can’t see the end of this or who survives
It’s just another case of do or die
Can’t see the end of this or who survives
It’s just another case of do or die