Universal Studios Singapore (USS) - The Concluding Post (with Madagascar Zone)

There's a good reason why i took so long to come out with this post; the lack of pictures of what is supposedly the last zone in USS that i have not covered in my blog.

Madagascar.

With only one operational ride (a carousel aptly named as King Julien's Beach Party-Go-Round) that i clearly have no interest in, we whiled away our time in the souvenir shop.

Loads of plushies of those highly cunning runaway penguins - the movie destroyed the impression many children have of these seemingly tame and docile creatures.

Nonetheless, these black and white gentlemen are still very adorable in my opinion.

The towering cargo ship from the first installment of the Madagascar movie. With the opening of the crate adventure on 16 May 2011, it could have contained something instead of being just a white elephant.

View of the ship from the next-door Hollywood Zone.

This is purely for aesthetic purpose - the fat tree shown in the beginning of Madagascar 2.

Complete with the hanging skeleton of an aviator who must have been seriously injured in his escape from the badly damaged plane.

It was almost 7pm when we decided to call it a day! I was physically tired, the pig sister was feeling under the weather, and all of us could not stand the stickiness on our skin that makes it damn uncomfortable!

We caught the beautiful sunset on Sentosa Express (to Beach station) that equally enthralled many other visitors. If not for the haste to return home, i might just ordered a drink at any of the beach bars and enjoy this fascinating real life picture.

A whopping S$17.00 of car park charge (Beach & Imbiah Car Park)! This was actually quite reasonable considering how a two-way taxi ride can cost me more than S$40.00.

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For my 1st post (Hollywood Zone), please click HERE.

For my 2nd post (New York Zone), please click HERE.

For my 3rd post (Sci-Fi City Zone), please click HERE.

For my 4th post (Ancient Egypt Zone), please click HERE.

For my 5th post (Lost World Zone), please click HERE.

For my 6th post (Far Far Away Zone), please click HERE.

Did i mention i will be back again?

One day in USS is seriously not enough.

Aftermath of Rubee's Passing - Rubee's Corner

It seems like a long time has passed since my best pal moved up to the blissful land where he can eat as many durians as he could without any potential health risk.

Truth is, it is only a month plus a day after i made that painful decision to euthanise him.

Time does dilute pain, suffering and some times, even memories - both good and bad. Work plays an important part as well; it forces you to put aside any personal matter because YOU ARE responsible to your stakeholders.

Thing is; life goes on, regardless of what happens.

The weekend following Rubee's demise, i bundled up his possessions into a bag and donated it to Animal Lovers League - a non-profit organization that houses abandoned pets.

His ashes were collected back a few days later and the porcelain urn was kept beside the television since he had always been afraid of silence and did not enjoy being holed up in a fully enclosed space.

With the ongoing redecoration work in my room, i am finally able to squeeze out a corner that would rightfully belong to Rubee. This is something i promised him a few years ago.

And i am glad to be able to fulfill it.

Deep inside my heart, i know i miss hugging him and i seriously hope that with his ashes so near to me, i can occasionally feel him. Unlike Alex, i have not had the luck to feel Rubee's presence.

Unfortunate indeed.

For me.

Mee Rebus and Mee Siam @ Goody 'N' Jolly - Parkway Parade (Treats)

Mention food in parkway parade to any person who frequents this shopping centre and you would likely get a response that includes the mee rebus located at basement 1.

I am no stranger to this particular stall and vividly remember its original location at the side of the food court. According to my memory, the big serving was super worth it at that very comfortable pricing.

Back then, i wasn't such a glutton and taste was at most one of the side factors for food consideration. Most importantly were the price and the amount of food for a growing boy man.

*i need to add that price is still an important component for me!*

Due to the heavy burden on the credit card statements for the next few months, the Gang of Four decided to patronise this stall and for me to officially review the food. 

Mee Rebus

Sufficient for two normal-sized persons, i did attempt a few times when i was working in Pet Lovers Centre but have never succeeded in cleaning up the whole plate!

It was infused with a strong curry flavour that wasn't exactly nostalgic. Judging from the thick gravy with chunks bean sprouts and shallots, this came as a surprise.

Something was lacking that day like a certain Southeast Asian flavouring but elderly me could not figure what it really is.

Though the Gang was famished at that time, we could barely finish half of what's given.

Mee Siam

This is one dish i know for sure that i have an allergy too; I would either run a temperature or keep having the runs the next day. The itchy mouth, unfortunately, always have the upper hand when it comes to eating.

Damn sourish hot! Beads of sweat continually oozed out from my scalp and i could feel my unkempt hair getting all wet and sticky! It can only be summarised with one word - SHIOK!

It was not the typical sweet mee siam that i am more accustomed to, yet i could not resist the repetitive action of scooping up spoonful after spoonful of that delish gravy and gravy coated mee hoon.

Expectedly, the toilet was my favourite space the very next day.

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Location

80 Marine Parade Road,

#B1-113 Parkway Parade Shopping Centre

(Treats Food Court)

Price

Mee Rebus - S$4

Mee Siam - S$4

Angry Birds Cupcakes Decoration Class @ Cookyn Inc

Thanks to Mrs Diane Lai, i was given a rare opportunity to participate in this cupcake decoration class organised by Cookyn with Mervyn!

Rare simply because i don't know how to bake, i don't have the necessary equipment and i don't have the bright, uncluttered kitchen space at home. The above factors mean i would not likely attend such a cooking course.

Unless it's free. :)

I enjoy playing the game Angry Birds on my iPhone; pretty obvious judging from the numerous blog postings on this super popular mobile game!

This obsession fully explains the reason why i am still keen to accept Diane's offer since this session concentrates on the "how" to create cupcakeS with the angry birds theme!

Images of Angry Birds characters were printed on a piece of paper for our reference in the cupcakes decoration. I thought i know the characters well; i am wrong. Dead wrong. This paper was therefore, very helpful to the trainees!

First thing; make the edible glue! Mix freshly squeezed lemon juice with icing powder. Stir vigourously until the consistency turns very thick.

Put it into the frosting bag and you have your glue ready. I find this amazing as i never knew there's such stuff available for food.

The fondant (main ingredient in decoration aka the dough) was fortunately prepared in advance by the trainer. According to her, her virgin try can only be described as frustrating! Definitely not recommended for impatient humans.

Parchment paper with corn flour and icing powder on it to be used with the fondant. Too sticky? Dap a bit of corn flour. Too soft? Use icing powder! Too hard? There's a bowl of water at the side (please don't use too much)!

Bright colours are the elements for most of the characters in angry bird and the trainer started with the main star of the game; the red angry bird!

I had to add in streaks after streaks of red colouring (toothpicks are so handy) and constant kneading before it was finally the "right" colour and "correct" look (it should look matt, not shiny).

Be careful - the colourings stain your palms and fingers! And i had to wash my hands everytime i needed a new colour (this is to prevent smudging).

It is seriously no easy job!

The different coloured balls on my table - looked like plasticine! Eventually, the participants shared what they made since it's really a lot of time and effort to make the various colours.

Using a rolling pin to first flatten the fondant, followed by cutting using the round metal cutter and you will finally get a red, round base to paste on the already-cooked cupcakes. Before putting it on, remember to squeeze the glue to fasten them together.

It's not difficult to make an angry bird! It may not look 100% like the ones in the game but there is usually some similarities.

This is my work! Cute?? The white body ratio is a bit too high although i thought the "fat" look is quite adorable. Change the parchment frequently unless you do not mind seeing speckles of other colours in the fondant you are working on.

My green, evil king pig beside the red bird! After the first try, the second attempt was comparatively much easier. It was still challenging as dexterity has never been one of my strong factors.

Our originally clean, tidy workstation was looking like a disaster zone! Flour was at times flying all around and the annoyance of not getting the details right can get on our nerves!

My ultimate creation. It took me a total of over three hours to decorate four cupcakes! Weirdly, i do feel a sense of achievement that makes these really worth the time and effort.

Six cupcakes were prepared for each participant (i could not manage another two) and i was sharing this aluminum plate with my cousin. Her angry birds' characters were so lovable!

Despite the cuteness, cupcakes are eventually meant to be eaten.

The pig sister chose her nemesis (the red bird) and cruelly bit off the head to pay back what the birds have done to her compatriots.

Alex, on the other hand, was less sympathetic and hungrily devoured the green swine!

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Location

Cookyn Inc, Garden Hub,

60,Jalan Penjara, Magaret Drive

Additional Information

Joking aside, i am now considering if i should take up more cooking courses. Maybe not on baking but something more familiar - like bbq!

The website for Cookyn Inc is http://www.cookyn-inc.com/.

Once again, thanks Diane!!!

Set Lunch (Full Board Package) @ Wangi Melati Cafe (Batam View Beach Resort)

Earlier this morning, i posted an entry on my latest overseas trip to Batam; an island that is merely an hour away from mainland Singapore.

A complimentary lunch was thrown in for our full board package! Meals can be expensive in resorts that cater mostly to Singaporeans and i would not want to face a bill amounting to a few hundred dollars for a single meal.

There are quite a few restaurants in Batam View beach resort and the complimentary meal vouchers can vary from buffets to set meals according to the availability (and i guess to a certain extent, the mood of the receptionist. haha).

Our lunch vouchers were accorded to Wangi Melati Cafe and without further ado, let's start on food now!

Tuna Salad

Pretty presentation that wowed both Alex and I as we were expecting a mish-mash of vegetables and maybe a few teaspoons of tuna.

The goodness stopped at the display. The taste was not impressive and to tell you the truth, i could do a better rendition using cold, crunchy cucumbers.

Onion Soup

This was way too watery and lacked the essential pungent onion flavouring. The taste was slightly more savoury with a bit of stirring but it didn't make my cut of a good bowl of onion soup.

Mee Goreng

Due to the anxiety in meeting our shuttle bus schedule, this was a special order as the western main courses will take too long to prepare! The mee goreng was chosen as Indonesian's version is so different from Singapore and Malaysia.

Good news and bad news. Good news - it was yummy and dripping of fresh ingredients! Bad news - Indonesian mee goreng is sweeter yet this plate here tasted more like a very good mee goreng from the lion city.

Chocolate Brownie

Alex's verdict - Damn delicious!

For me, it was sinfully sweet like any good piece of chocolate cake. And i prefer to rate it against a cake because i don't find much similarity to the brownies i am accustomed to.