Last week, the award-winning Sandcrawler building officially opened in a ceremony with Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr Lee Hsien Loong, President of Lucasfilm, Ms Kathleen Kennedy, and filmmaking legend, Mr George Lucas. This state-of-the-art building will be the regional headquarters for Lucasfilm Singapore, the Walt Disney Company [Southeast Asia], and ESPN Asia Pacific.
With this world-class facility and the incredible talents housed within its gleaming glass walls, Lucasfilm Singapore will continue the ground-breaking animation and visual effects work that it is well-known for, including the supporting of the upcoming Star Wars movies.
Located in the Fusionopolis district of Singapore, the Sandcrawler takes its name from a large vehicle featured in the original Star Wars film. The structure continues Mr George Lucas’ tradition of providing signature creative and beautiful workspaces for employees of Lucasfilm, which was acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2012.
The event was marked by the unveiling of a bronze statue of the Star Wars character Yoda, which will have its permanent installation in the idyllic stream in the interior public courtyard of the building. The statue of the legendary Jedi Master links this new structure with the other innovative buildings that Mr George Lucas has built in Northern California and it serves as a landmark.
Included in the 242,190 square feet of enclosed office and common space, the Sandcrawler features a 100-seat theatre, state-of-the-art digital production capabilities, underground parking, and retail space at street level. The structure, designed by Aedas Architecture, has received a Gold Plus Greenmark certification in Singapore and has won six architectural awards including the prestigious Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award for Best New Global Design.
Now wouldn’t you wish to work in a unique building like this?
4 more days to Christmas and 11 more days to the start of a brand new year! Time really flies and while we are all busy doing our Christmas shopping, there is a group of people whom are working extremely hard to prepare the Marina Bay for the nation’s biggest countdown party of the year, the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2014.
If you have recently been to the Marina Bay, you would have noticed thousands of white spheres that are set afloat for the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2014 and on these white spheres are the wishes that individuals/groups of people have written for the coming New Year.
The wishing spheres project is an extensive one and a lot of coordination work has been done to consolidate the wishing spheres. To find out more about what goes on behind the scenes at the Wishing Stations, check out Hong Peng’s blogpost.
5 days ago, on a hot Monday morning, we were extremely privileged to have the opportunity to go behind the scenes and we learnt how the wishing spheres were installed and set afloat on the waters of Marina Bay.
Together with another Blogger, we boarded the boat and were given a brief tour around the Marina Bay where the wishing spheres were.
To install all the 20,000 wishing spheres, there is a grid system underneath the waters that guides where the wishing spheres are to be installed and there is a rope that would be attached to the wishing sphere to keep them in place.
To keep the wishing spheres in tip-top condition, maintenance is usually carried out after Christmas and because of environmental factors like heat and light, some of the wishing spheres would deflate or change in colour; hence, they would either be manually inflated or replaced with a new wishing sphere.
The installation of the wishing sphere is certainly not an easy feat. With a crew size of 4 persons and equipped with 2 boats, the crew will have to either brave the scorching hot sun or the unrelenting rain to get this gigantic task done by New Year’s Eve!
Now that you know what goes on behind the scenes, be ever grateful that there’s someone out there who will make your New Year celebration a joyous occasion! Just head down to the Marina Bay on New Year’s Eve to check out the spectacular light display of the wishing spheres and don’t forget to bring along your camera!
On this note, we would like to wish all our readers a Merry Christmas in advance! 🙂
For the first time after so many years, a riot broke out in Singapore at Little India and it came as a rude shock to us when we saw our Facebook News Feed flooded with images and videos of the violence that took place. At first, we found it hard to believe that such a thing could have happened and it dawned upon us that we must never ever take the peace we have in Singapore for granted. Ambulance and Overturned Police Car were Set On Fire by the Rioters.
Even though the situation at Little India is now under control, it is expected that there will be tensions over the next few days and authorities have called for everyone to remain calm and not to speculate on the incident until the matter has been thoroughly investigated.
Press Conference that took Place This Morning At About 0220 Hours After The Little India Riot
While keeping up with the news about what was happening at Little India, we have seen some racist comments and postings that were pretty crude and some people even made use the of circumstance to incite hatred and spread unnecessary rumours that were untrue. Seriously, we really hope that people would verify their news sources before sharing them because these would have caused undue stress and worries for family members and loved ones of the Police Officers, Medics, and the Civil Defence Officers. Yes, one can obtain fast updates and news from social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook but what use would it be if the news sources are not trustworthy and accurate?
We believe Home Team Academy [HTA] has handled the crisis well and kudos to the officers whom were onsite to maintain law and order. Justice must be served for the damages done to government property and the injuries that were sustained by the officers in the course of their duty. It is really brave of our officers to exercise restraint even in the face of violence and we wish the injured offices a speedy recovery.
Riot Police in Riot Gear During the Little India Riot
While investigations are still ongoing, may we take this opportunity to remind everyone to remain calm and not to aggravate the circumstance with unnecessary rumours and especially, racist or xenophobic remarks. While the situation in Little India is under control, we strongly advise tourists to stay away from the area for the time being.
After attending the launch of the world’s first Near Field Communication [NFC] mobile application [app] for EZ-Link card top-ups at Ion Sky, we are definitely contemplating to switch over to an Android smartphone that has NFC capabilities. VIPs for the event gathered to celebrate the launch of My EZ-Link Mobile App
After all, we believe that NFC will be quite a big hit with the consumers sooner or later as technology gets more advanced. It is a real pity that Apple hasn’t jump onto the NFC bandwagon yet.
So what’s the My EZ-Link Mobile app all about?
My EZ-Link Mobile is an official mobile app developed by EZ-Link Pte Ltd and it is the only mobile app that provides top up of EZ-Link cards via a NFC-enabled mobile phone. Yes you read it right, you can now top up your EZ-Link card with compatible NFC-enabled mobile phones. With My EZ-Link Mobile app, you don’t have to queue to top up your EZ-Link card at the ATM machines and the Top Up Terminal Points located at the bus interchange and train stations anymore!
Although the maximum amount that can be stored in your EZ-Link card is SGD $500, My EZ-Link Mobile app only allows you to select from the preset top up amounts of SGD $5, SGD $10, SGD $20 or SGD $30.
You can top-up EZ-Link cards that are issued by EZ-Link, which include those sold over the counters, cards that are enabled with EZ-Reload [by Card or GIRO], co-brand bank cards, and membership cards with EZ-Link purses embedded in them. However, Standard Tickets, Park & Ride Tickets, and Concession Cards cannot be topped up via My EZ-Link Mobile app because they are not issued by EZ-Link.
Apart from topping up your EZ-Link card, My EZ-Link Mobile app also allows you to check the balance that is available on your EZ-Link card, view card details such as expiry date and card status of your EZ-Link card, view the last 30 transactions that was made on your EZ-Link card, and manage up to 10 EZ-Link cards all on one app!
If you’re wondering how you can use My EZ-Link Mobile app to top up your EZ-Link card, check out the video tutorial by EZ-Link:
A flat convenience fee of SGD $0.30 is applicable for every successful top up transaction, regardless of the top up amounts. However, from now till 31 May 2014, the top-up service is available free-of-charge for all MasterCard cardholders.
Do note that My EZ-Link Mobile app needs to be connected to the Internet in order to perform top up transactions for EZ-Link cards. If there is no data connection, you will only be able to view your EZ-Link card details and transactional records and no, you don’t have to pay any additional charge for that.
What We Love About the My EZ-Link Mobile App:
• Extremely convenient and hassle free
• Allow us to beat the queues when topping up our EZ-Link cards
• No more worries about insufficient balance when going through the ERP and Parking Gantries
• Ability to manage up to 10 EZ-Link cards all on one app [highly useful for parents with school-going children]
My EZ-Link Mobile is a free mobile application that is available on the Google Play Store and it can be installed onto compatible NFC-enabled Android smartphones. For a comprehensive list of the updated compatible OS version and firmware, do check out http://www.ezlinknfc.com/supported-phones/
And if you have downloaded My EZ-Link Mobile app, here are some awesome promotions that you don’t want to miss. All you have to do is to flash your smartphone with the downloaded My EZ-Link Mobile app and you will be able to enjoy the discounts and complimentary Christmas specials at the various Food Junction outlets.
Eggs & Berries
Complimentary Waffle with ice cream with $80 spend at Eggs & Berries @ Westgate 25 Dec 13 to 30 Jan 14 *Flash downloaded My EZ-Link Mobile app to enjoy a complimentary waffle
MEDZS
1-for-1 Pizza from MEDZ [Millenia Walk and Orchard Central] 26 Dec 13 to 15 Jan 14 *Flash downloaded My EZ-Link Mobile app to enjoy 1-for-1 pizza, the higher lower price pizza is complimentary
Boxing Crab, Sentosa
20% off Yu Sheng [large size] from Boxing Crab, Sentosa 27 Jan 14 to 14 Feb 14 *Flash downloaded My EZ-Link Mobile app to enjoy 20% discount
I know I haven’t been writing frequently about the latest Singapore lifestyle news for the last two weeks but I promise that after this posting, I will be sharing some new and fresh updates about the topic. The photos that you see in this post are some highlights of our Graduation Parade.
59th TOC Graduation Parade
What seemed like an eternity right from the beginning came to an evening that was not only memorable but ended surprisingly fast. The two weeks that I spent at HQ NCC was a fruitful and enjoyable one, and it was really heartening for me to see the passion and commitment from the teachers whom were on course.
NCC Colours Party On Parade
Caught MAJ Foo, my former East District Commander when I was a Cadet Officer and managed to have a brief chat with him.
The Drumline from Swiss Winds were really outstanding! They performed with much gusto during our Graduation Parade and I really take my hats off to them!
MAJ Anthony, the man whom made Swiss Winds possible!
Through the many lectures and the hands on practical training that included activities such as paintball, rappelling, and even the 100-metre live range; we were exposed to a myriad of activities that both the Cadets and Cadet Officers have to undergo during their training with the NCC. This gave us a first-hand experience of the possible challenges and difficulties that our Cadets and Cadet Officers may encounter so that we as Teacher Officers can step in to guide and encourage where possible.
Having been with the NCC since 2001, I have personally seen how the organisation has transformed under the different leaders and it is no surprise why the NCC continues to be one of the premier uniformed groups in Singapore.
For a little bit of my history with the NCC, do feel free to check out the following link:
Having completed the short 2-weeks NCC TOC, I am now appointed as a Teacher Officer and so, the next chapter of my journey with the NCC begins. However, the course wouldn’t have been so fun and enjoyable if not for the new friends that I’ve made over the last 2 weeks. The course would also not have been possible and smoothly executed if not for the strong support that we received from the staffs at HQ NCC.
A photo with 1WO Christopher Bryan, my mentor for close to a decade now and he’s still on fire, impacting and transforming the youths of NCC into leaders of tomorrow!
A photo with 3WO Shaffiee, a really humble Guards Warrant Officer whom taught us a lot of useful skills!
Benin was from the same intake as I was when we were serving as Cadet Officers in East District. He was the Parade Commander for our Graduation Parade.
A photo with Brandon, my junior who’s now serving HQ NCC as a Cadet Officer.
And of course, a photo with Jacqueline, my Baby whom made all things possible and helped take so much nice photos!
To my syndicate mates, I know I have said this many times but truly, I enjoyed your company during the course and I have learnt quite a lot about leadership from all of you. I wouldn’t have achieved the Syndicate Achiever Award if not for all of your encouragement and endorsement. You all have inspired me, one way or another; and truly, my wish is that all of you will go back to your school units and make a difference in the lives of your Cadets and Cadet Officers. Yes, challenges will come, circumstances may change, but winners never quit! With this, I really hope that there will be opportunities to see all of you soon for upcoming NCC events and may you all continue To Serve With Pride And Dedication!
Photo with the VIPs and Guest of Honour, Mr Neo Kian Hong.
Syndicate 1 performing a song item for the audience.
Here’s the full video of our performance that’s available on Youtube as well.
Yesterday, we were at The Walking Dead Zombie Pop Up Cafe that was specially constructed for the Race The DeadRunning Event, Singapore’s first ever 5K Zombie Run, at Sentosa Siloso Beach and it was quite an intriguing experience.
If you’re wondering what’s on the menu, here it is! All the food and beverage items were specially prepared by the awesome crew from Kerbside Gourmet.
Of all the items that we have tried on the menu, we like Victim 13 Cupcake the best and apart from food, blood beverage was also served to over 5,000 survivors of the Race The Dead event.
Runners had a taste of what it felt like to be inside The Walking Dead, the hit-TV show that kicked off the zombie fever around the world.
Participants also flocked to take photos with zombies from The Walking Dead Zombie Pop Up Café, and capped off an exhausting day with an exclusive outdoor screening of the latest episodes from The Walking Dead Season 4, organised by SingTel mio TV and FOX Movies Premium.
As of the time of posting this blog entry, The Walking Dead Zombie Pop Up Café and the outdoor screening of The Walking Dead Season 4 are open to the public and if you are making your way down to Sentosa Island now, don’t forget to check them out at the Quarantine Carnival, Sentosa Siloso Beach!
To catch more of The Walking Dead fever, check out FOX Movies Premium HD [SingTel mio TV Channel 414] every Sunday at 10pm. There is also a free marathon of The Walking Dead Season 1-3 available on mio TV Video on Demand for all mio TV subscribers. Simply press the VOD button on your mio TV remote control and select the “Must Watch” option to begin.
Be ready to get zombified when you catch The Walking Dead Season 4!
Papi Melvin told me that he wants to take a break from blogging and so, I [Foxy Mehmeh] am writing this blog post on his behalf. All pictures used in this blog post were taken by Mummy Jacqueline.
Last Saturday, Papi and Mummy brought me to The Promontory @ Marina Bay for the Ben & Jerry’s ChunkFest 2013, Singapore’s largest ice cream festival, and we had a fabulous time indulging in the yummy Ben & Jerry’s ice cream that were specially flown in for the occasion!
Despite the pretty bad weather at the beginning, a steady stream of visitors came to join in the muddy affair. As I didn’t want to get myself dirty, Papi carried me in his recyclable bag and we went to sight see. There were a couple of game booths set up and we could tell the little ones had loads of fun!
Yes, even adults older than Papi and Mummy had fun at the game booths too!
A father and son duo enjoying themselves at the game booths.
A group of children waiting to compete in a sack race.
With so much activities lined up for Ben & Jerry’s ChunkFest 2013, there was never a dull moment and everyone was smiling and so happy!
While sight-seeing with Papi and Mummy, fans of A Winsome Life came over to say “hi” and they received 5 pints of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream along with some Ben & Jerry’s merchandise from us. Here’s a photo of Papi with our fans!
The Ben & Jerry’s ChunkFest 2013 surprised us in many ways because for one, the Ben & Jerry’s merchandise were really affordable! We literally saw troops of people just rushing over for some shopping madness and we ourselves joined in the craze and Papi and Mummy bought a couple of Ben & Jerry’s tee-shirts that were going for 2 Fair Coins [equivalent to $2] each! Unfortunately, there weren’t tee-shirts my size and I guess I shall just stick to my foxy sweater.
Here are just some of the Ben & Jerry’s merchandise that were selling at Ben & Jerry’s ChunkFest 2013.
We also spotted a group of children that came for Ben & Jerry’s ChunkFest 2013 and boy, were they rich! Some of them were seen carrying $50 and $100 notes to buy ice cream!
Anyway, pets were allowed at the Ben & Jerry’s ChunkFest 2013 and I saw many friendly dogs. They smiled at me but I was too shy to approach them for photos so Mummy Jacqueline help me to take some photos of them for me to keep and remember them.
Papi and Me posing for a photo.
I was rather thirsty that day and the Korkor and Jiejie from Somersby were very generous to offer us some Apple Cider.
Papi and the Jiejie from Somersby posing for a photo.
When Papi gave me a cup of Somersby Apple Cider to finish by myself, Mummy was angry withPapi because she said I was too young to drink alcoholic drinks. So, after much discussion with Mummy, I got a tiny weeny cup of Somersby Apple Cider and it was simply refreshing!
We also went to checked out some of the Fairness Partners’ booths at the Ben & Jerry’s ChunkFest 2013 and we found Project Happy Feet quite meaningful.
When we visited Project Happy Feet’s booth, we found out that Project Happy Feet is a Singapore-based not-for-profit organisation set up to empower the lives of underprivileged youths and children in developing countries by supporting their education and training through fund-raising for education-related initiatives and programmes that positively impact them or their families. Papi found Project Happy Feet so meaningful that he is considering signing up to be a volunteer.
Another Fairness Partner booth that we visited was Kerbside Gourmet.
Kerbside Gourmet is Singapore’s first gourmet food truck with a social vision. “Kerby”, as the truck is affectionately nicknamed, hit the streets in the first quarter of 2013 with soul food, catering to the discerning individuals who seek an alternative, sublime dining experience. Papi and Mummy ordered some of their food to try and they were really tasty! To catch Kerby and try some of the awesome food, do check out Kerbside Gourmet’s Facebook Page for updates about where they will be located at!
One of the highlights of the Ben & Jerry’s ChunkFest 2013 was the Vermonster Challenge.
It was my first time witnessing such an eye-opening event. The teams that participated in the Vermonster Challenge were really big eaters and it was indeed a very messy affair! In case you’re wondering what is a Vermonster, the Vermonster is a large ice cream sundae served in a “Vermonster Bucket” at Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops. The Vermonster Bucket contains 20 scoops of ice cream, 4 bananas, 4 ladles of hot fudge, 3 chocolate chip cookies, 1 chocolate fudge brownie, 10 scoops of walnuts, 2 scoops each of 4 toppings of your choice, and whipped cream. The Vermonster contains a whopping 14,000 calories and 500 grams of fat!
Here are some photos of the teams that participated in the Vermonster Challenge:
Team Mon Mon Cheongster came in second place after Team Fair La Croquette Ben & Jerry beat them with a minute lesser.
Team We Are Monsters
Team Fair La Croquette Ben & Jerry won the Vermonster Challenge and they received a one year’s supply of Vermonsters!
And of course, how could we miss the yummy Ben & Jerry’s ice cream while watching others chomp down the Vermonster? Papi and Mummy gotten me three different flavours of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and they were oh-so-yummy! My favourite one has got to be the Candy Bar Pie and unfortunately, it is not available here in Singapore. I really do hope they will bring in this flavour next year!
When evening came, the lights from the surrounding buildings were very pretty and the atmosphere was so surreal.
For the very first time in the history of Ben & Jerry’s ChunkFest, there was a special movie screening under the night sky and the movie, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” was screened.
Well, I had a lovely and fun time at Ben & Jerry’s ChunkFest 2013 and I am definitely looking forward to next year’s Ben & Jerry’s ChunkFest 2014! Hopefully, Papi and Mummy will bring me out again!
Just three days ago, we were at the launch of the stunning new packaging on the Guinness Foreign Extra Stout variant at a custom-built pop-up bar at One Raffles Place and it was hosted by Fergal Murray, Guinness’ Global Master Brewer.
Specially flown in from Dublin, Ireland, Fergal Murray shared with us that Guinness is undoubtedly one of the longest established beer brands in Singapore, and its Foreign Extra Stout variant is a combination of tradition and heritage, having cemented its position as the nation’s much loved brew over the past 145 years.
For those of us belonging to the late 80s or early 90s generation of people, you probably would ask what’s Ang Ji Kao and how is it related to Guinness and even for ourselves, we have absolutely not heard of Ang Ji Kao before until recently.
Ang Ji Kao is a Hokkien term for Red Tongued Dog and it is often used by those from the 60s/70s generation whenever they want to order a bottle of Guinness at the kopitiams [coffee shops].
Why’s that so?
If you are observant enough, you would have noticed that there’s an emblem of a Red Tongued Dog on the Guinness bottle labels and it is a classic icon of Guinness here in Singapore for the last 145 years! This iconic Red Tongued Dog is more affectionately known as the Ang Ji Kao.
Singapore is the first market in the world to launch the new design that pushes boundaries with more style and more soul. From the beauty of the metallic gold finishes, the standout yellow racetracks of colour, and the layering of contemporary typography, the new Guinness Foreign Extra Stout livery invites the eye and draws the drinker in.
The iconic Ang Ji Kao or Red Tongued Dog remains on the neck label as a classic icon of Guinness in Singapore.
The generous swoop of Arthur Guinness’ signature not only adds to the new livery’s premium aesthetic, but also pays homage to the provenance, craft, and authority of the world’s favourite stout, adding a new sense of quality and ritual to this adored drink.
Apart from the interaction with Fergal Murray, we also had the opportunity to learn about the process that goes behind the making of Guinness’ beers.
An interactive raw ingredient wall and a special showcase of the brew kettle and bottling line.
An elegant island bar for special samplings also features in this pop-up, where visitors will be taken through the time-honoured three-part pour, a signature for the Guinness brand.
If you missed the custom-built pop-up bar at One Raffles Place, fret not because the custom-built pop-up bar will be travelling to Ang Mo Kio Hub, 112 Katong Mall, and Wisma Atria in the coming weeks!
The lush pop-up bars will feature at the three locations from 19 October to 3 November 2013 at the following timings:
19 – 20 Oct Ang Mo Kio Hub [Open Plaza Entrance] 11am – 9pm 25 – 27 Oct I12 Katong 11.30am – 9pm 02 – 03 Nov Wisma Atria 12pm – 9pm
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Fun Fact!
The Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, with 176 calories per 12 ounces, is comparatively low in calories as compared to the Orange Juice with 183 calories.
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The new Guinness Foreign Extra Stout livery will continue to include Guinness Foreign Extra Stout pint and quart bottles, as well as the 500ml and 320ml cans, available island-wide.
Its characteristic bittersweet palette delivers an extraordinary drinking experience that meets every occasion. Seekers of a full-flavoured beer will find that a chilled Guinness is both striking and refreshingly crisp.
Are you ready to discover more of the most distinctive beer in the world?
If you’re a big fan of K-POP, we have some exciting news that you might be interested in!
Nikon Singapore is glad to announce its 4th Nikon VIP Access photo contest that is themed, “I AM K-POP”, and from now till 3 November 2013, simply submit a photo of yourself dressed like a K-POP idol and describe whom you are dressing up as.
If you are chosen as the lucky winner, you will receive a Nikon COOLPIX camera and a trip for TWO to the 2013 Mnet Asian Music Awards that will be held in Hong Kong! Now, we’re pretty sure you know that the 2013 Mnet Asian Music Awards is one of Asia’s largest K-pop music award shows.
In case you’re wondering how your photo will be judged, it will be based on 80% judges’ vote and 20% public vote.
Also, don’t forget to get your family members and friends to vote for you as 1 lucky voter who has voted on the winning photo may also stand a chance to take home a Nikon COOLPIX camera.
Pre-amble: This is going to be a rather long blog post. We took more than 600 photos yesterday and even after all the sorting, deleting, and editing, we still ended up with quite a number of photos. Hence, we have consolidated some of the photos into collages for easy viewing.
Yesterday, we were at the Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop at VivoCity for the Couch Potato Ice Cream Workshop with Ben & Jerry’s Flavour Guru, Peter Lind, and it was a very insightful session. Couch Potato is the latest Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavour that is launching here in Singapore and during the workshop with Peter, we learnt about the secrets that went behind the creation of Couch Potato.
In case you didn’t know, Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop at VivoCity underwent a major facelift and we really like the newly decorated place. With its more cosy, clean, and colourful furniture and fixtures, the Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop at VivoCity is definitely a chic place for some awesome Ben & Jerry’s ice creams!
Kenneth, the Brand Champion for Ben & Jerry’s, gave his opening address before the workshop with Peter Lind.
Peter made quite a surprising entrance when he played on his harmonica and welcomed us to the workshop.
Peter explained to us that the idea behind the creation of Couch Potato was a rather elaborate one. There were many experiments that had to be carried out to perfect the Couch Potato and in this photo, you will see Peter dipping a potato chip into a cup of milk. This was done to put across the point that potato chips would absorb moisture and turn soggy when submerged in liquid. As such, when Peter was creating the Couch Potato, he had to find a solution that would prevent the potato chips from turning soggy. Hence, this was how the idea of a chocolate-coated potato chip came about.
Even then, the idea was still in its infancy stage as there are many different types of flavoured potato chips. After tasting for ourselves the various chocolate-coated potato chips in different flavours, we concluded that the chocolate-coated classic potato chip was the best. As potato chips are quite brittle and fragile to be mixed into ice cream, Peter then came up with the idea of grounding the potato chips, forming them into a spherical shape, and then finally coating it with chocolate. This made the chocolate-coated potato chip clusters rather sturdy to be mixed into the ice cream without becoming soggy.
During the workshop, Jacqueline also had the rare opportunity to assist Peter in making the Couch Potato which we happily ate on the spot! Nothing beats freshly made ice cream!
Couch Potato, a wacky, chunky, and funky concoction that features vanilla ice cream with a salty caramel swirl and chocolatey potato chip clusters.
Ben & Jerry’s is all about Peace, Love, and Ice Cream!
At the workshop, Peter also showed us how quality checks are done on Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and he literally saw pints of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream into half. He showed us what makes a good pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and really, we were quite amazed at the stringent requirements that Ben & Jerry’s has for their ice cream. The next time you buy a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, you can be rest assured that you’re getting high quality ice cream all the way from Vermont, USA!
After the workshop with Peter, we were very privileged to bring him on a Singapore Food Inspiration Tour together with 4 other Bloggers.
The first stop was to Thye Moh Chan and it was led by GNineThree. There, Peter tried a couple of tau sar piah that came with different fillings. For those of you whom are unfamiliar with the tau sar piah, it is actually a flaky pastry and it is a Chinese delicacy. Apart from the tau sar piah, Peter also had the kaya toast bread from Toast Box.
The second stop was to Ah Hung Company where Peter had his first experience with the durian. There, I introduced the durian to Peter and though he was initially quite apprehensive about trying it, he was actually quite surprised that the experience wasn’t so bad after all. We also introduced some other local tropical fruits to Peter and he was quite pleased with the dragonfruit and the mangosteen. With that said, the XO durian that we had didn’t come cheap. It cost a staggering $132 and the XO durian weighed about 4+KG!
Peter’s expression when trying the durian.
The third stop was to Sinma Frog Porridge and Melicacy led the tour. Though it wasn’t Peter’s first experience with frog legs, he enjoys the frog leg porridge very much. Personally, we liked it too as the frog legs were chewy and tender and the sauce complemented the entire dish really well.
The fourth stop was to Bedok Central Hakwer Centre and there, both DarrenSim and YummyFoodBook introduced the chendol and the rojak to Peter.
Apart from the chendol, Peter also had a taste of some other local desserts such as the almond paste, pulut hitam, soya beancurd, and even the goreng pisang! Peter was also given a bottle of gula melaka which he could bring back to his laboratory and experiment with new flavours!
Peter shared with us that he handles spice really well and he enjoyed the rojak even though it was slightly spicy. He found the cucumbers and pineapples rather refreshing and he even candidly told us that he might want to work on the cucumber sorbet that he previously experimented with.
Honestly, we were indeed privileged to have such an upclose and personal session with Peter! He was so accommodating and extremely friendly, and we really do hope that he returns to Singapore again!
We concluded the whole event with Peter presenting hampers to everyone of us. The hampers came with Ben & Jerry’s merchandise and to top it off, Ben & Jerry’s Singapore gave us a year’s supply of Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream! We were indeed feeling extremely euphoric!
This Saturday, Ben & Jerry’s Singapore is organising Singapore’s biggest ice cream festival, the ChunkFest! It will be held at The Promontory @ Marina Bay from 2pm to 10pm and admission is FREE! There, you will be able to enjoy exclusive Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavours specially shipped in from the US for the event, participate in euphoric carnival activities, and catch the ever popular Vermonster Challenge!
Also, for the first time at ChunkFest, you can also enjoy an evening movie screening with your loved ones over a cup of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream! So, if you’re planning a romantic date, don’t forget to purchase the Moovie Pack which consist of a complimentary scoop of ice cream, picnic mat, flip-flops, and tote bag; all for only $12and 50% of the proceeds will go towards Ben & Jerry’s Fairness Partners such as Blessings in A Bag, Chris Café @ The Hub, Dyslexia Association of Singapore, Kerbside Gourmet, and Project Happy Feet!
If you feel lucky enough, you might want to check out GNineThree’s Blog as they are giving away 6X Moovie Packs!
[Image Credits to Ben & Jerry’s Singapore]
As for us, we’re going to slurp down the 13 exclusive flavours of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream from the US that are only available on that day itself! There’s Candy Bar Pie, White Russian, Banana Peanut Butter Greek Yoghurt, Chocolate Peppermint Crunch, Karamel Sutra, Peach Cobbler and so much more!
Before we end off this blog entry, we would like to share the joy of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream with all you readers and that is, we will be giving away 5X Pints of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream [any flavour of your choice] which are redeemable only at Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop at VivoCity.
2. Like, Share, and Tag 5 Friends In This Picture, with the Comment; “Join Me @ the Ben & Jerry’s ChunkFest 2013 that is happening at The Promontory @ Marina Bay this Saturday and help me look for @awinsomelife”.
3. Head down to Chunkfest 2013 and be the first 5 to hunt us down to collect the “Free Pint Voucher” from us this Saturday at ChunkFest 2013!
See you at Ben & Jerry’s Chunkfest 2013 at The Promontory @ Marina Bay!
