Thanks to the good people of Omy, Harry’s, Jumbo Seafood restaurant, Brewerkz, Cafe Iguana,

I had a rather interesting mega High Tea!

Our first stop was the legendary Jumbo Seafood Restaurant!

Truly seafood has become part of the Singaporean culture, and whilst lots of places boast of awesomeness, both in branding and quality, there isn’t many who can match Jumbo!

As I wait in my chair, the restaurant brings out their top chef to introduce the meal to us.

This one is his baby! Salted Egg Prawns. Ok personally, i am not a big fan of salted egg, but even i have to admit that the dish has great chewability and the taste of the salted egg is not overwhelming. It blends together nicely. I am not going to give it a ten, but if you love your moon cakes with that yellow inside, then u’re gonna love this dish.

Haha, then comes the monster truck of dishes!

The Singaporean Chilli crab.

The dish that needs no introduction. As famous as the mer lion, the Singapore Sling and the Singaporean Girl, a sure definition of Singapore is also most definitely defined by how good our Chilli crab is.

They say You haven’t been to china if u haven’t finishes your climb of the Great Wall (in which case i haven’t, since the wall was partially broken when i was there)

And u haven’t been to Singapore, if u haven’t had Chilli crab
And u haven’t had Chilli crab till u have had it at Jumbo (i said that

The spice control is always going to be debate, where the spice level has been watered down over the years to fancy foreigners. But i learnt a lesson, dont tell foreigners that! The response i get is, “Hey! who says we can’t take the chillis!” Ah! Perhaps it is time to really up the Chilli level of the chilli crab. But needless to say, Jumbo’s Chilli crab is already up their with the stars, so I cant really find anymore words to elevate it any higher can I?

Next Stop, just next door, Cafe Iguana!

Innocent looking name, but a terror with the tequillas!
The restaurant/pub boasts of the widest selection of Tequillas in Singapore.

So forget that cheap Tequilla shot u usually get in clubs while Lil jon and LMFAO is shouting “SHOT! SHOTS SHOTS!”

and get some of the genuine stuff!

and ooooh! Bet ya didn’t know! they had this dish!

Red SnappeR fish! Awesome. The slightly burnt edges bring out the true flavors of the fish, topped with the fresh coriander, to hold the balance of the dish together. One of my favorites, i will be back for this!

Everybody!

Next stop: Pop over to Harry’s

There was once i was at esplanade, and i chanced upon this sign “Best fish in chips in town”

Ok, i love a challenge! so i tried it. and ……they were right!

Harry’s Fish and Chips

Great fish at an affordable price!

From Harry’s, we walk over to the last stop! Brewerkz

The name itself sending a tingling feeling down my spine. The place that brews its own beers. With a tremendous selection of beer to choose from!

No! I already had enough tequilla!

oops..here comes the beers

The New kid in town is

SCHOLAR RED!
1500 years in the making, made of “red sticky rice”! Soothing on the throat, red for auspicious good luck! What more can u ask for?

Ahhh! Nice….

Wait hold on! There’s food too?

The legendary Buffalo wings.

Not made of buffalo. But chicken wings made with their famous Buffalo sauce (also not made of buffalo…er..)
But it was awesome. So awesome. They even had different levels of chilli, but it became common consensus that they were all not spicy at all. But who cares? The wings were awesome. Still packed with the excellent fish from Harry’s and iguana’s, I vowed not to eat anymore.

I ended up having 12 buffalo wings…Just couldn’t stop!

Ah, so now u know what to get, and where in Clarke Quay, Riverside pt.

Dings

Hello Dingaholics!
and fellow Kallang Roarians

The good people at SHAW and OMY gave me a nice ticket to catch an extraordinary show

The Rabbit Hole

(Starring the still damn beautiful Nicole kidman, and the actor i really respect, Aaron Eckhart!)

But what was really cool was that
They gave me a ticket to their PREMIERE ticket.

Here is a photo of their seats:

I overheard that the cost of such a ticket would be around $20 on a weekday,

Mind you, for that price, (maybe 40 for 2)

what you are getting is an exceptional cinema experience.

Complete with SIA business class treatment, of blanket, reclining Seats that transform into a bed,
and a menu, and a service button, for you to buy drinks
to be served to you
all from the comfort of your seat!

So the next time you’re feeling that funny feeling
that you want something special for two
an extraordinary feeling for your loved ones

Don’t just watch a movie
Watch a SHAW NEX Premiere cinema movie!

Thinking about which cinema to go to?
SHAW is Nex!

Woah

i wasn’t sure how long i was out cold in the blogosphere, or blogsfear.

Guess so much has been happening that there really isn’t much to talk about…

Highlights so far and so long include:

I went to Spain { Barceonla (watched Messi), Madrid (watched Ronaldo) } and then to Paris in december, almost
getting caught in that dreadful weather in London, so we didn’t go to London.

I had an unsurprising Chinese New Year, i didn’t bartend this time, No one dressed up as a Rabbit, and hopped
around to give Ang Pows

Though i really liked watching on the television that an entire row of “Fortune Gods” (Chai Shens) paraded down
some Singaporean Street. Remind me to hire them for cosplay

And here we are suddenly in the warm embrace of posters that hail “Rabbits galore!”

I did see some fearful looking Bugs bunny simulations on the streets of Madrid, looking for donations and selling cheap balloons
The smile on their faded ten year old bugs bunny suit, looked dented downwards liking an evil grin
scaring away children and donors alike.

I heard the news

It is saddening of course.

To be honest the first time i contacted him, he ignore my call.
I think that footballers get calls from people all the time
trying to trick their money or make them say comments that they don’t want to.
So u can believe that in the beginning i thought
“Sigh, Dollah Kassim was another one of those footballers who would ignore me.”

It was until i persisted, and brought my 1977 Straits times Sport section cutting of every single page of every single FAS lions sporting column to show him, that he was moved.

Then he knew i was serious. And when he knew, his heart opened, and the amazing love flow.

He helped me graciously during my filming process,

he did even come on set and noted, “Hey Rajagopal is left footed, why is he kicking the corner kick with his right foot.”
I actually explained to him that, hee hee, he is right, but my actor is right footed so his kicking with his left foot would look really ugly
so i inserted a few scenes before, showing him injured, showing his determination to train his left foot.
Dollah nodded, smiled, ok, at least the director knew what he was doing.
Well, it’s a gamble, i dont think i did the right thing necessarily,
i just improvised
but he was there to correct me if i was wrong. But he also gave me space, gave space to a young director who could make mistakes.

And that time, when he came down gamely for an interview
i remembered him patting my back as he took time off work to give an interview in the middle of a film shoot location.
He pat my back, and spoke in his usual soft voice
“All de best.”
It was a very comfortable pat. Much like a soccer legend, a hero patting u on the back, with a handshake.
Like all in a day’s work, cost him nothing to come all the way down to the stadium speak for fifteen minutes and go off.
But it is a big thing.
And i thank him for that.

I don’t know if i did good enough. Honestly.
The idea of the movie was so that he and the rest of the class of 1977 be remembered.
I’m not sure i did him enough justice.
Furthermore when I made the movie. i portrayed him as more of the kampong boy, the relaxed fella, the chillout dude.
(chill out dude that earned the captain’s armband for the final battle)

Whether he was honestly that funny in real life, i would never know, because i am not his family.
After the show, thankfully some of his family members said Wow! How did i know to portray the humorous, joker side of him?
Phew.

but definitely then his character would stand out in the show. that i intended.
so he be remembered.
Because that’s what Singapore must do
remember our heroes

and I know we will.
We are learning.

but we will.

Goodbye Dollah

Sincerely
Ding An
Merelion Pictures

There are 2 rules to Ding An Day

One, as i have previously blogged, is that it may be a normal day, a day like any other day without significance, which now on hindsight doesn’t really seem like that much a day, or an idea that is as bullet proof as V for Vendetta’s V.

The second rule is:
“It is my birthday, i can do anything.”

And so, under the prompting of a friend who was obviously a chicken in its previous life, (for suggesting the word Teriyaki for its annonymous name)

i have decided to do the impossible!

I shall blog about blogging!

I sat in my room, the buttons shook, as i took to them. The keypad knew me. We spend almost all our our 24 hours of the day together. Writing scriptning, spitting at each other’s ridiculous ideas for stories. But today was different. Today I wore the tag of THE MAN. I was the man of the moment, i was the birthday boy, and so my keypad looked at me differently, almost as if sorry that it did not give me a birthday present! A birthday present! That’s right!

Emptiness.

I suddenly realized something.

Unlike all my previous birthdays, even the worst ones, i suddenly realized that i dont have a single birthday present.

A birthday present. Wow. What a concept, something i am a master of. ASk my mum, ask my friends, well ok more of my mum.

Then my keypad spoke, and asked me
“Is it really the presents? Is that what’s bothering you?”

So i thought about. My keypad knew me the most.
“No. you’re right. It’s not.”

Flash back:
I am standing in front of me relatives. i make my wish. someone or something prompts me to say it out loud. all i say is.

“I have made the same wish every birthday, since i was 16.”

But it hasn’t come true yet.

Ok.

I am done. Puffs out air.
Try not to see it as a sad blog entry. It is my birthday, i won’t allow it

Today is Ding An day

my birthday.

So i declare today Ding An day

what is the significance of Ding An you might ask?
And it’s not even a public holiday? To celebrate still must waste one day of leave.
and it’s not even a festival, or a beer type of day like Oktofest

Channel Okto should have Okto fest just thought.

So, what so special then? this Ding An day

well the answer is …

nothing…

Ding An Day is the only holiday that is not a holiday, and a Day that is not special.
It is a normal day.
Because it is a reminder,
that every other day in Ding An’s life
in your life,
should be special,
but not this day, no.

This day should be normal
a day that sacrifices itself so that all other days are cherished and special.

That is the true meaning

of Ding An Day

I would give this film five stars out of five, and then tell you not to watch it.

As I came out of the cinema, I saw a daughter holding her mother. I think her mother was still crying. The daughter asked the mother “So how was the show?”
Her first reaction was “I didn’t bring enough tissue.” Her second response was “I wouldn’t pay to watch this show.”

I think about other apocalyptic movies, or movies about disasters, and with the level of violence in films and movies these days, i feel so numb to it all.
However, when within the first ten minutes of his film, my eyes begin tearing in the most uncontrollable manner.
Perhaps it is the realism of it all, I am looking at asian faces, chinese people i would otherwise see around me in my daily life, killed without mercy. The mother of the child, her performance of sheer desperation. The pain that connects us to the film feels so real, that if this film was shot on 3D, i think i would have just died of a broken heart. It is that sad. my entire row of audience was crying, guys and girls included, with the guy on my left peeking at me to see if i was crying, so that he won’t feel so ashamed if he did so too.

As for the director? Feng Xiao gang? He is my new hero. I came home confused, wanting to discuss with someone, anyone, how a director could press a button and make me cry like there was no tomorrow. That is the power of cinema, something no other film, not even inception or dark knight can do.

and ironically, as i say that, i would tell you that i give Inception 4 out of five stars, and would ask you to watch it, but only watch once. (i watched twice). While an awesome film like AFtershock, that film buffs with knowledge would love to boast to their other film buff fans, would be a show, that i would watch once, acknowledge its amazing existence much like how i would acknowledge the MONA LISA, come out of the cinema feeling that gutsy burst of fire to get a backpack and go down and save this world, only to have that feeling die after a week, and then truly know that i would not watch this film again.

However, i believe in the purpose of this film. It is not for entertainment. It is an important film for the chinese people, and what it showcases in the darkest tunnel is the light. That there is humanity in this world after all. Through the great pain, families are tested, and with each rising challenge, the family ties also get stronger. Every character is believable, and i see a film filled with amazing and talented actors for the next generation of Chinese cinema.

Just some trivia, Feng Xiao Gang is slated to make five more films, before he announces his retirement. I am watching all of them, and i will being moving backwards to catch all of his past works.

Ding an

“Robin Hood Memorial in Nottingham. Who shot the sheriff?”

When I was in primary school, yes PSLE year.
I wrote a play that was the Singaporean Version of Robin Hood
I was director, writer, almost lead actor, until i had to go sadly for
Leadership Training camp for Prefects. (Yes Hor, hard to imagine hor?)

“Rapper Lil Jon. No, no relation to this movie”

My play is a funny version something like this one

“Men in Tights” One of my all time favorites.

I remember rushing back from Leadership Training Camp with another female prefect.
and coming to the school hall, and seeing it empty.
I missed it, too late, i didn’t know if the people liked my play.
Then I went back to class, and everyone clapped and cheered, and the teacher was happy
telling me that the people loved it.

Now, Bruce Lee may be afraid of Gala premieres but even he, wants to know, to feel if the people feel along with him.

But anyway…
I am a great Robin Hood fan.
Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Robin Hood.
I can say it a few thousand times and never get sick of saying it.
Robin Hood.

Then there was a Kevin Costner movie

See how much more garang it is to shoot a fire arrow!
Imagine how they took the picture…Ok Mr Costner, hold on sir, something wrong with the lighting… (meanwhile still burning…)

Oh my god! There are lego toys for Robin hood too!

So with these two movies in mind,
especially the first one, which i really loved (Robin Hood: Men in tights)

What would one come to expect of this new one?

See! No fire arrow! not as Garang!
And with Russell Crowe looking all unshaven and raw,
just like Daniel Craig’s James Bond
Just like christian Bale’s Batman

And possibly something to expect would be how an arrow would be shot in slow motion
to accentuate the accuracy of Mr Robin.

So what can we come to expect, how to do it different? Better? even a comedy, a spoof like Men in tights would have its angle

IN comes Ridley Scott!

From the director who brought you
Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma and Louise, G i Jane, Hannibal, Kingdom of Heaven, Black Hawk Down, Gladiator, and a “1984″ Apple Macintosh commercial

With nothing to expect i was not just pleasantly surprised but rather amazed.

It was like the Lord of the Rings of Robin Hood,
that kind of scale. ($130 million)

And you know Scott, using his environment to tell the story
viewers get to really immerse themselves into the world of Robin Hood.

Russell Crowe’s performance:
Well. You know this man is good. Highly versatile. Knows how to milk the sympathy with simplicity
His take on Robin is not something different or outrageously spectacular
but it is the simplicity that counted.

The simple things like being a good husband. Being a man you can count on, having friends laugh at him
but follow him to death kind of brotherhood and leadership. Somehow the gladiator creeps back into this Robin Hood
So we get a Gladiator Robin Hood. How cool is that!

And oh, gone is the simple “Damsel-in-distress-then-one-arrow-snipe-and-he-saves-the-girl” formula
The girl in this show is like the queen in 300.
Warrior woman! Wooo! Cate as Maid Marian!

Kudos to them, even having time in the show to find Romance!
But romance does not take presidence in this show.
Once again the values are of honor, of what it means to be a MAN!
(”Be a man, do the right thing!” said in Cantonese voice)
And the larger picture, with a tinge of love.

Well, basically, i came home excited,
trying to tell my brother EVERYTHING about it!
and he covered his ears.
So this means i should stop talking right here
and you should go see the show!

Dings

Haha! What can I Say? I loved it!
I knew I would.
I fear i wouldn’t, because i knew i would
but i did.

And my friend, i don’t know where to begin in describing a film that was
As simple as a small cup cake.
But truly enjoyable!

And one of my favorite actors of all time
(whom i wish to have a chance to work with before i die)

Robert Downey Junior
once again puts in a performance, that reminds us of the theory of
The New Age Super “Human”.

Exhibit A: Iron Man sitting in the middle of a huge Donut.

The theory of the Super “Human” –

Exhibit B: “No seriously, this is not Robert Downey Junior taking a break. This is from the film!”

Look, the man is a zillionaire, does what he likes, (initially) sells weapons to whoever buys them, has tons of woman at his disposal. He is a character that is off this planet! Easily dislikable! How can the cinema go-er relate to this man?

Think Batman Begins, and think of Christian Bale’s take on a billionaire Bruce Wayne vent on exposing the true face of crime, by throwing himself into prison and exploring the true mind of criminals in order to avenge the death of his parents!

Think “Incredible Hulk” – and see Edward Norton, dig deeper into what it feels like to be Bruce Banner, who cannot have sex with sexy Liv Tyler, or else his heart rate quadriples and…

Think James Bond – think Daniel Craig’s 6 pack coming out of the water at the beach, and see a new 007, buffed up, taking ten minutes on a single guy, full of “Orh Cey” (bruised up) to fight the villain, and losing his first love Vesper, that made him the man he is today.

Think Superman Returns – and see X men Director Bryan Singer make Superman, our favorite alien who has to see Lois Lane married with a kid, THE RELUCTANT EX BOYFRIEND ALIEN who still has to save her, the world and you, despite his “human” issues!

The New Age superhero is painstakingly crafted to encompass a humanistic value, that the common man can seek solace in relating to. The choice of the super HUMAN characteristic determines the likability of the character.

Ok, so for Iron Man, the task at hand:

A zillionaire, too much money. Too much woman! Sells weapons to whoever buys them (initially) has a smug on his face like he couldn’t care less about the world.

How is any human going to relate to that?

Summon Robert Downey Junior!

A strange choice since Iron Man 1 to play Antony Stark. Yes he is famous we know, yes he is gifted, but how is he stark? Robert Downey Junior doesn’t exactly have that Bruce Wayne, ultra millionaire look upon his face. Can’t we get someone buffer? Someone, more known to be able to carry off a moustache?

Oh How Wrong, as Iron man 1 smashed the box office!
Costing 140 million to make, and grossing 585 million

All Because this zillionaire actually went through Super Human Process! (Iron Man 1) [and marketing and special fx]

Yes he has all the money in the world,

but all the money in the world could not prevent him from being critically wounded by his own weapons! Money couldn’t save him from being trapped in a cave and forced to make weapons of mass destruction for the enemy. (Iron Man 1)

“I Heart you botak!”

And the perfect irony of the heart – “the man without a heart” As we see the poor guy depend on a generator to power his heart. His extreme vulnerability.

Yes he has all the woman in the world. But his undying faithfulness to Pepper Potts, the woman as he says the touching lines “It was you, it was always you.”(Iron Man 2)

“Ding An: Oh i remember this dance. This is one where she later realizes she is dancing with her boss and goes “AWww! That was so awkward, before their relationship went into full flight. The Secretary falls in love with Boss complex. Human! Chop!”

Yes he is still a zillionaire – endless parties media attention. But what did the film focus on?

His innovation. The character derived from Howard Hughes, if you remembered The aviator by Martin Scorcese, the character portrayed by Leonardo Dicaprio.

Learn to fly: “I always thought Foo Fighter’s “Learn to Fly” is the best song for this scene in Iron Man 1 haha, could have been an MTV playing at the background.”

The creative genius, the endless innovator, the eccentric inventor whose life is built on that moment of sudden spark! He is like a child who after twenty years of repressed childhood, takes his first step into Toys Or Us at the age of 30, and starts combing all the toys together to form this huge robot suit! A child at heart. Gotta love him!

And for once, I wouldn’t even spoil it for you, divulging Iron Man 2’s secrets before you watch it.
but would love to say that Iron Man 2 uses that same principal as Iron Man 1
A destroyed Hero, learns his mistake, comes back stronger.
Using the same working principal,
but disguised so well with excellent heart stopping moments of adventure.

Coffee Time: “Robert and Wife Susan Levin having coffee”

It’s like that favorite coffee of yours
who knows why you love it
stays true to the values that made it special
but evolves all the time to keep the relationship fresh

Wow!

I want this coffee!

Coffee, coffee, it is 3am as i write this. And i really took my time dilly dallying to come up with some simple words to describe Iron Man 2. But really, it was because i didn’t know what to say!.

Iron Man 2 is back to the 101 of a good story, a good movie, great acting, and the extreme zen of movie making – simple – usable, absolutely enjoyable!

Special Tribute!

Remember Mickey Rourke?

Oh don’t you just love it when bad guys are cool and as fun to watch as the good guy?

The guy who brought you

“Marv” in Sin City

The wrestler

Excellent performance! Definitely worth the watch!

I think i might watch again.

Signing off
Dings