Christmas was a rather quiet affair for both Baby and I this year.
In fact, we celebrated Christmas Eve with a simple dinner at Manhattan Fish Market [MFM] Bishan Junction 8.

From Christmas 2012

Well, the service was a tad disappointing because while we were waiting in line, there was nobody that attended to us and neither were the menu presented to us. To be honest, it was totally unlike the exceptional service that we experienced when we dined at the MFM [Plaza Singapura].

[We have blogged about our previous dining experience at MFM here: https://awinsomelife.org/2012/02/29/manhattan-fish-market-plaza-singapura]

Since we had a voucher that was given to us by Baby’s Sister, we ordered the MFM Giant Seafood Platter for 2 and also 2 Supreme Catches which consisted of 2 bowls of Seafood Chowder and 2 Beverages.

This is the Seafood Chowder.

From Christmas 2012

Our Opinion: We personally find the chowder to be quite thick and while the texture was acceptable, the chowder definitely lacked the flavour that we were expecting.

The 2 beverages that we had were Cala Cala and Citrus Mint.

From Christmas 2012

Our Opinion: Both the beverages were well presented and the tastes were superb. We really like the refreshing fizziness of the Cala Cala and Citrus Mint, and we will definitely recommend them.

Presenting to you the MFM Giant Seafood Platter for 2!

From Christmas 2012

Our Opinion: We really liked this dish a lot! Not only was the portion huge, but the platter also offered a variety of food to choose from as well. The Giant Seafood Platter for 2 consisted of Fries, Fish, Calamari, Prawns, Broccoli, Carrots, Mushrooms, and Butter Rice! As the platter was quite huge, we really couldn’t finish the entire platter and had plenty of fries left over. We will highly recommend this dish if you’re looking for a wide variety of food to fill your stomach.

Well, although the service was a tad disappointing initially, it wasn’t all that bad because Yin Zheng [Trainee at MFM] and Charly [Manager at MFM] were very prompt in attending to our requests. They were very polite and courteous and we were extremely pleased with the way they served us. What we also liked about MFM was that they provided free Wifi to Guests as well! Now, that is really a plus point because not a lot of restaurants or cafes in Singapore provide free Wifi to guests. We will definitely return to MFM to dine again!

After the rather filling dinner that we had, Baby and I went to Polar Puffs & Cake Store to buy a simple mini log cake to celebrate Christmas!

From Christmas 2012

Having done all our Christmas shopping, we went home and had a simple Christmas Eve celebration with my Brother and his Girlfriend.

We opened the bottle of Angas Moscato that Baby and I bought from Changi Airport’s Duty Free Store.

From Christmas 2012

While counting down to Christmas, we had a simple game of Roulette.

From Christmas 2012

And because Roulette was getting too boring, we decided to just chill and relax by chatting and drinking our hearts out.

From Christmas 2012

When it was close to 12 midnight, Baby brought out the log cake.

From Christmas 2012

and well, I had the honour of cutting the log cake. Machiam like celebrating birthday.

From Christmas 2012

The mini log cake that we bought from Polar Puffs & Cake Store was surprisingly superb!

From Christmas 2012

After downing 3 bottles of Moscato, all of us went to bed tired but happy.

To celebrate Christmas, we caught a movie at Golden Village [GV] Vivo City.

We caught CZ12, a film by Jackie Chan at GV Max and it was said that the Dolby Atmos Sound System would provide cinema-goers a rather immersive kind of movie experience. Well, I honestly couldn’t sense any difference in sound or cinematic experience and I guess this might be due to the technology being quite new and that movie producers have yet to embrace and incorporate this new technology into their films.

Here’s the Movie Plot of CZ12 [as extracted from GV‘s Website]:

Jackie Chan’s spectacular new adventure takes him all the way from the chateaux and vineyards of France and the hidden dangers of a jungle on a South Seas island to the terrors of a fight in free-fall above an active volcano! The story is sprung on a quest to track down six bronze sculptures, originally part of a set of twelve representing the animals of the Chinese Zodiac. The sculptures were looted from the Summer Palace in Beijing when the city was sacked by European armies in the 19th century, and there’s an international campaign in progress to demand the return of stolen cultural treasures to their countries of origin. But Jackie plays a soldier of fortune, not a high-minded patriot. He’s in it for the money. But as events take unexpected turns and strange alliances take shape, motives begin to change …

Globe-trotting soldier-of-fortune JC is hired by shady antiques dealers to track down six missing bronze animal-heads by any means necessary. The six bronzes originally formed part of a set of twelve, representing the animals of the Chinese Zodiac, forming part of a fountain in the old Summer Palace outside Beijing; they were looted and dispersed when Anglo-French armies sacked the Summer Palace in 1860. JC and his crack team of assistants first head to France, where two of the bronzes are believed to be held in a private collection. The operation to ‘liberate’ the bronzes from a heavily guarded Chateau brings JC into an uneasy alliance with Coco, a Chinese student in Paris, who is active in a global movement which campaigns for stolen cultural treasures to be returned to their homelands. Along the way, JC makes an enemy-for-life of Pierre, the chief of staff at the Chateau Marceau, and an unexpected friend of Katherine, a bankrupted aristocrat whose home contains another of the missing bronzes. The trail next leads JC and his team, now including Coco and Katherine, to a forgotten tropical island in the South Seas, where two missing animal heads are found in a beached wreck. A multi-national band of pirates moves to block the team’s getaway, but JC’s skill and resourcefulness wins the day. Back home, JC is stunned to learn that his employers already had the sixth missing bronze all along, and he sets out to teach them a lesson for tricking him. Meanwhile the protest movement has persuaded buyers to shun auctions of stolen national treasures, and the shady dealers are threatening to destroy the sixth bronze in public. Will JC’s conscience – and his sense of Chinese national pride – kick in to push him to save the last bronze from destruction? The answer is played out on the slopes of an active volcano …

Our Review of the Movie:
Although CZ12 was a movie worth catching, many of the scenes were rather similar to Jackie Chan’s past films and the physical humour have been used so often that it got pretty boring. The storyline was average and the stunts that were performed were pretty predictable.

Well, many people also had the misconception that CZ12 was going to be Jackie Chan’s last movie but well, Jackie Chan has dispelled those rumours and stated that CZ12 would be his last major action movie instead. And yes, I do agree that it is about time that he “retires” from action movies especially when Jackie Chan is getting old [he’s 58 already!].

Seriously, I really admire Jackie Chan and he has made a rather strong impression on me during my growing up years. Some of his movies which I personally enjoyed were, Who Am I [Wo Shi Shei], Gorgeous [Bo Li Zun], Rush Hour, and Shanghai Noon. And what I really like about Jackie Chan was that the stunts performed in his films are real; which explains all the cuts and bruises that he sustained during filming. So well, if CZ12 is going to be Jackie Chan’s last major action movie, you should really go catch it if you’re a fan of Jackie Chan!

Here’s the Movie Trailer of CZ12:

Stay tuned to more updates from us!

God Bless!