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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!

It has been more than 2 days since we last blogged and we have been really busy over the last few days as we were hosting our relatives whom came all the way from England to Singapore for a short holiday. Therefore, in our few upcoming blog entries, we will be sharing about the itinerary that we planned for our relatives and also the activities that we have planned for them. And yes, thank God we’re still alive and kicking and that 21st of December wasn’t the end of the world [EOTW].
Also, we would like to offer our heartfelt congratulations to Saralyn and Jason as they have won a Frezfruta Hello Kitty Promotional Pack and a Bottle of Moscato D’ Asti by G.D Vajra, Italy, in the giveaways that we recently conducted respectively.

Anyways, the recent scandal about Zoey Raymond that we blogged about has drawn quite a lot of attention and Zoey Raymond has temporarily disabled her blog at www.zoeyraymond.com. As of now, only Zoey Raymond’s Twitter, Facebook Page, and Youtube Channel are available and she has not given her side of the story till date. Well, slowly but surly, the buzz about the scandal is slowly dying out and it is pretty heartening to know that Yuki Ng has moved on and is slowly on the road to recovery. With that being said, it is pretty odd that the limelight has been thrown entirely on Zoey Raymond and not Alvin Yang. After all, he should give everyone a clear explanation of his position right?

Anyhows, that is besides the point. Our blog entry today is about the movie [Jack Reacher] that we recently caught with our relatives at Golden Village [GV Plaza Singapura] and before we share about what we think of the movie, we do have some feedback about the theatre at GV Plaza Singapura, specifically Hall 6, and we hope that GV Plaza Singapura would take note of them:

While we do understand that GV Plaza Singapura screens multiple movies and the turnaround time for the theatres are pretty tight, cinema-goers like me would really appreciate that basic hygiene expectations are met i.e. the floors and seats are free from popcorns and litter and the seats are wiped and sanitised. In addition, for some reason, the atmosphere/air of Hall 6 has a pretty bad musky and damp smell and I really hope that GV Plaza Singapura would look into this matter and resolve the issues promptly.

Alright, so here’s the plot of Jack Reacher [as extracted from GV‘s Website]:

When a gunman takes five lives with six shots, all evidence points to the suspect in custody. On interrogation, the suspect offers up a single note: “Get Jack Reacher!” So begins an extraordinary chase for the truth, pitting Jack Reacher against an unexpected enemy, with a skill for violence and a secret to keep.

Our Review of the Movie:

The movie is pretty exhilarating and I would say that its genre is more of thriller than action because of its mind-boggling storyline. In fact, we are still quite baffled over certain scenes of the movie and by the way, the movie is an adaptation of Lee Child’s 2005 novel One Shot.

As certain scenes are quite repetitive, the movie can be quite draggy at times. If you have caught Wreck-It Ralph already, you might want to catch Jack Reacher if you haven’t got any other plans. And well, if you’re a fan of Tom Cruise and you like movies that keep you in suspense, catching Jack Reacher might be a good choice.

Here’s the Movie Trailer:

Also, it’s Christmas Eve today and we hope all you Winsomelifers will have a fabulous Christmas week ahead! Do grab the opportunity to spend some time with your loved ones and here’s wishing all of you a Merry Christmas in advance!

Stay tuned to more updates from us and God bless!

I wanted to continue from where I left off about my Genting Trip but because Wreck-It Ralph is going to be screening in the cinemas TOMORROW, I reckoned that it would be good for me to do a short write-up about how Baby and I felt about the movie and then continue my blog entry about the Genting Trip probably tomorrow!
Thanks to Nuffnang and Disney Studios Singapore, both Baby and I had the opportunity to catch Disney’s latest animation movie, “Wreck-It Ralph” just two days ago and we will highly recommend you to watch this movie if it is going to be the last movie you will ever watch on planet Earth [which we believe will not happen].

Here’s the Movie Plot of Wreck-It Ralph [as extracted from Golden Village‘s website]:

Walt Disney Animation Studios and Emmy(R)-winning director Rich Moore (TV’s “The Simpsons,” “Futurama”) take moviegoers on a hilarious, arcade-game-hopping journey in “Wreck-It Ralph.” Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly, “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” “Step Brothers”) is tired of being overshadowed by Fix-It Felix (voice of Jack McBrayer, “30 Rock”), the “good guy” star of their game who always gets to save the day. But after decades doing the same thing and seeing all the glory go to Felix, Ralph decides he’s tired of playing the role of a bad guy. He takes matters into his own massive hands and sets off on a game-hopping journey across the arcade through every generation of video games to prove he’s got what it takes to be a hero. On his quest, he meets the tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun (voice of Jane Lynch, TV’s “Glee”) from the first-person action game Hero’s Duty. But it’s the feisty misfit Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Sarah Silverman, “The Sarah Silverman Program”) from the candy-coated cart racing game, Sugar Rush, whose world is threatened when Ralph accidentally unleashes a deadly enemy that threatens the entire arcade. Will Ralph realize his dream and save the day before it’s too late?

Our Review of the Movie:

Disney’s movies are always heartwarming and Wreck-It Ralph isn’t an exception. In fact, there are many meaningful values that the little ones could learn from the movie and we really love the movie. Although we felt that the ending was pretty abrupt, we nonetheless enjoyed every single moment of the movie and we will give it two thumbs up!

If you’re still planning what to do over this weekends, heading to the movies to catch Wreck-It Ralph might just be the thing you need to cure that boredom.

Here’s the Movie Trailer for Wreck-It Ralph:

Also in light of recent events like the Zoey Raymond Saga and the Change in Instagram’s Policy; I might delay the blog post about Genting and probably give my two cents opinion about the recent news. We’ll see how things go. Meanwhile, we’re also in the midst of setting up our very own Formspring Corner; so do look out for that!

Last but not the least, our giveaway of a bottle of Moscato D’ Asti by G.D. Vajra, Italy, and a Frezfruta Hello Kitty Promotional Pack is ending in 1 day time and we are happy to announce that Jason Koh and Saralyn Low are currently in the lead for the giveaway respectively!

For those whom did not win in the giveaway, fret not because when you participate in our Winsomelifers’ Programme, you can still earn loyalty points every time you “visit” our blog, “like” a blog entry, or even “tweeting” about us; and with these loyalty points, you can redeem for stuffs like Popular Book Store Vouchers, Starbucks Gift Card, or a Golden Village Gift Card from us! It’s our way of thanking you for being our loyal readers here on A Winsome Life.  Also, we are planning to add more items for the Winsomelifer’s Programe so if you have any suggestions on what items you would like to redeem, do feel free to pop us an email at admin@awinsomelife.org

Stay tuned to more updates from us and God bless!

Hello Everyone,
Baby and I caught Ted [the movie] at Golden Village (GV) Grand [Great World City] last Friday and it was part of an event [known as the Ted Party] organised by GV, 8 Days, and hosted by Ross from 987FM.

From Ted Movie Party 2012

Anyway, the ticket/admission was $25 per person [inclusive of one regular popcorn, one regular drink, one serving of Somersby Apple Cider, one serving of Carlsberg Beer, a goodie bag, and the movie screening as well] and it was really worth it! So, when I first heard the news about the Ted Party from GV’s Facebook Page, I decided to purchase tickets for it right away and I was glad I did because the event was a sold out! When we arrived, there was already a long-line of people queuing up to get their goodie bags and as we were all encouraged to bring along a Teddy Bear, a majority of the party-goers did brought along their own Teddy Bears. So, you could imagine the puzzled look on the faces of the general public when they saw so many people carrying Teddy Bears and walking around at Great World City.

From Ted Movie Party 2012
From Ted Movie Party 2012

Here’s Baby and I posing for some photos at the event!

From Ted Movie Party 2012
From Ted Movie Party 2012
From Ted Movie Party 2012

When we entered the party area, it was bustling with lots of fringe activities where we could design our own teddy-tee shirt using the materials that were provided, take some rather “naughty” photos with the props provided, or participate in the games that were hosted by Ross.

From Ted Movie Party 2012

So with this backdrop of Ted, I did a few poses like…

From Ted Movie Party 2012

Peeing with Ted..

From Ted Movie Party 2012

or Just Being Cheeky..

From Ted Movie Party 2012

We also saw lots of people designing their own Teddy-Tee Shirt and I must say, some of the tee-shirts were really well-designed! I wonder where they get their creative juices from.

From Ted Movie Party 2012
From Ted Movie Party 2012

Since Baby and I were all prepared to have some fun, it wasn’t that difficult to get us to pose for photos even with onlookers looking.

From Ted Movie Party 2012

Here’s where Somersby Apple Cider and Carlsberg Beer were served

From Ted Movie Party 2012

If you frequent NTUC, you would’ve noticed that Somersby Apple Cider were having some sort of promotion; though I’m not sure if they are still having some sort of promotion now. If you’re wondering how Somersby Apple Cider taste like, think Jolly Shandy. And in case you’re wondering how Carlsberg Beer taste like, it just tasted like Calsberg [like duh!]

From Ted Movie Party 2012

The real fun began when Ross took centre stage and hosted a few “naughty games” which include memorising and reciting the Thunder Buddies Song [I have blurred out certain words because I want to keep this blog visitor-friendly].

From Ted Movie Party 2012
From Ted Movie Party 2012

The first game was some sort of a “what can you do with your bear” game and when Ross was calling up some people from the audience to come up to the stage and play the game, little did we realise that we were selected as well. And so, the good old me arrowed Baby up the stage.

From Ted Movie Party 2012
From Ted Movie Party 2012
From Ted Movie Party 2012

Some of the participants did small talks with their teddy bears, others did a little bit of acting with their teddy bears; but Baby did something that was totally different from everyone else; Baby did a strip dance for MelMel BearBear [the name we gave to the Teddy Bear back in February 2011]. In case you’re wondering, no, Baby didn’t strip, it was MelMel BearBear that was stripped of his removable camouflage clothing.

From Ted Movie Party 2012
From Ted Movie Party 2012
From Ted Movie Party 2012

I do have a video of the strip dance but I think I shan’t upload it for now as I haven’t got the time to edit the raw footage that was shot. But anyways, Baby and MelMel BearBear came out top in the game and hence, won us a pair of GV Gold Class tickets!

From Ted Movie Party 2012
From Ted Movie Party 2012

Congratulations to Baby for the big win. If I was the one that went up the stage instead, I would have gone blank.

Anyways, before the movie was screened, there was a lucky draw conducted at the Ted Party which ended the event on a rather high note. Well, both Baby and I would like to thank GV for organising such a fun event and we definitely enjoyed ourselves very much. We definitely look forward to more of such events in future!

Now, here’s a rather short review on the movie, Ted.

Movie Plot [extracted from GV’s website]:

Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane brings his boundary-pushing brand of humor to the big screen for the first time as writer, director and voice star of Ted. In the live action/CG-animated comedy, he tells the story of John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg), a grown man who must deal with the cherished teddy bear who came to life as the result of a childhood wish…and has refused to leave his side ever since.

Movie Trailer:

Our Verdict:

Ok, before we begin, Ted is rated M-18 because there are Coarse Language, Sexual Scenes, and Drug Use involved. Hence, it is definitely not a movie for family outings/gatherings. In fact, I would recommend Ted for class/buddy gatherings, couple dates, and the likes. If you can’t stand hearing swear words, avoid this movie at all costs.

So, if you have no issues with the reason why Ted is rated M-18, then you ought to catch Ted because it really offers a good laughing therapy session throughout the entire movie. Towards the end, the movie might leave you in tears but fret not, I promise the ending is a rather sweet and heart-warming one. I shan’t spoil the movie for you any further, so if you haven’t caught Ted yet, do go and catch it! The release date for Ted is 10 September 2012 [which is today]!

Happy Ted-ding!

Stay tuned to more updates from us!

God bless!

Hello Everyone,
Baby and I caught The Bourne Legacy yesterday at Bishan Golden Village and the theatre was almost fully packed [less the first two rows of seats] despite it being a 2240 hours movie. Anyway, The Bourne Legacy is the 4th film of The Bourne Series and while I haven’t caught the previous 3 Bourne Films before, the movie was somehow still understandable.

Movie Plot [as extracted from Golden Village]:

The narrative architect behind the Bourne film series, Tony Gilroy, takes the helm in the next chapter of the hugely popular espionage franchise that has earned almost $1 billion at the global box office: The Bourne Legacy. The writer/director expands the Bourne universe created by Robert Ludlum with an original story that introduces us to a new hero (Jeremy Renner) whose life-or-death stakes have been triggered by the events of the first three films.

For The Bourne Legacy, Renner joins fellow series newcomers Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Stacy Keach and Oscar Isaac, while franchise veterans Albert Finney, Joan Allen, David Strathairn and Scott Glenn reprise their roles.

Movie Review:

Honestly, like I mentioned, I have not caught the previous 3 Bourne Films before and while I was watching The Bourne Legacy, there were some aspects of the movie that I would not have understand if I haven’t done a bit of read-up on Wikipedia about the film. Hence, movie-goers might have a hard time understanding the film if its their first time watching a Bourne Film. The beginning of the movie was pretty much boring and confusing because there was a lot of “jumping” around from scenes to scenes. However, from the middle portion of the film towards the end, things get slightly interesting. Out of a rating of 5, I would probably rate it a 2.5; so you might want to consider saving up the money to catch The Expendables 2 instead.

Movie Trailer:

Stay tuned to more updates from us!

God bless!