I Am Still Alive!

1298 days ago

Don’t worry guys, I am still alive. Just a bit down under the weather after that major illness I had. That really got me good. Never felt so ill before. Well,...

Don’t worry guys, I am still alive. Just a bit down under the weather after that major illness I had. That really got me good. Never felt so ill before. Well, I am sure that I had before but that was a big one. High fever, bad cough, terrible sore throat, throat with too much disgusting looking dark greenish phlegm, headache which won’t go away and finally too much medicine. The antibiotic even comes with a big fancy foil wrapping. Cool!

Anyway, this is just to tell you that I am alive and should be back blogging in a few more days. I really need to rest. Poor little poor me.

I Have Been Drugged!

1301 days ago

Well….by my doctors! You see I was down with flu, cough, sore throat and fever. The original dose of medicine they gave me didn’t do squat for me and I got...

Well….by my doctors! You see I was down with flu, cough, sore throat and fever. The original dose of medicine they gave me didn’t do squat for me and I got worst. In fact, my fever went as high as 39.4 degrees! Wow, a few more degrees higher and I would have been fried human brain. It all started last week Tuesday when I had a little sore throat and fever. Oh, my entire body ached as well. So I went to see my doctor and they gave me some pills. The next day, I felt much better and thought nothing of it. However on Saturday night, I started to feel the body ache again. Lo and behold, come Monday I had high fever, a very bad sore throat and my eyes can’t even open. And my doctor was closed because of Deepavali.

So I went to the doctor again and was told that my throat infection had worsen and this led to the high fever. But the doctor was worried about other possibilities like Dengue and order a blood test for me as well. They then gave me several different types of medicine. And these are the powerful ones. When I say powerful, I really mean it. Those medicines could easily knock out a bull. It really knock me out! I never felt so washed out before in my life. I spent the entire day sleeping and when I woke up, I wouldn’t feel a thing. I tried to type a few sentences into my blog and I just couldn’t concentrate and my eyes kept on wanting to dose off. It felt like someone had placed a clamp on my eyelids and I just couldn’t open them. Anyway, when you wake up in the morning and you wash your face, sometimes you would feel some sticky stuff around your eyes or eyelids? Well this morning, this sticky stuff was covering my entire eye and I had to peel my eyelids open with my hands! It is just so amazing how thick the layer of eye dirt I had! Well, I have been sneezing greenish mucus for the past few days already and it doesn’t seem to be letting up either. It can be really disgusting to see greenish mucus whenever you blow your nose. Looks like those ghost slime you see on the Ghost Busters movies.

Anyway if you guys are interested, I feel much better today. Fever has gone down, however the throat, coughing and flu is still there. And I got a swollen eye. However, I am pretty sure that it will all be okay soon enough. It kind of scared me when I have such a sudden stroke of illness.

Opened A Bottle Of Mexican Cerveza!

1304 days ago

Just last week, I bottled the Mexican Cerveza and yes, I know, it is just too early to open up a bottle but I couldn’t resist myself. So today I went...

Just last week, I bottled the Mexican Cerveza and yes, I know, it is just too early to open up a bottle but I couldn’t resist myself. So today I went ahead and opened up a bottle of Mexcian Cerveza to have a taste. As expected there isn’t much carbonation even though the PET bottle was pretty firm to press. I guess even if the PET bottle was firm, it doesn’t really mean that it has the correct level of carbonation. However, the beer was pretty okay. I mean, it was okay to drink. Nothing great but I think it should go very well with my friends. I never expected this beer to be something extraordinary since all I wanted was it to be a refreshing and delicous drink for a warm day. Anyway, this is just a Cooper’s kit beer, so let’s not have our expectations too high eh?

Very nice golden colour. I had actually expected it to be even lighter than this. Perhaps it is because I took the photo in the wee morning and the sun is still not completely up yet. Yes, you can see a little carbonation but that’s about it.

Took a photo of the beer from the top. Nice head. It looks very foamy. It is just too bad that the head doesn’t last long.

Another photo of the Mexican Cerveza. Yes, from this photo you can see that there is hardly any carbonation left. This photo was taken right after I poured the beer from the bottle. That’s very pathetic if you ask me. Hopefully, there will be proper carbonation on the 2 week. I always assume that carbonation would be faster than the actual fermentation. But from what I read in the forums, it seems that it is not always true. Some brewers had good carbonation only after the 6 week in the bottle. In Singapore’s weather, it should be about 4 weeks or so. However, I don’t think my friends can wait so long for the beer to carbonate fully. Well…that’s life. Rush here, rush there.

Anyway, I will give you guys the heads up after I have shared them with my friends and see what they have to say about this. Remember that this is made using ale yeast instead of a lager yeast, so there might be some difference between a real Mexican Cerveza and this brew.

Schweppes Ginger Beer

1304 days ago

Yes, it is yet another drinks review.  This time it is on the Schweppes Ginger Beer. I have been brewing a little Ginger Beer myself using some soda making ingredient kit...

Yes, it is yet another drinks review.  This time it is on the Schweppes Ginger Beer. I have been brewing a little Ginger Beer myself using some soda making ingredient kit I bought online and I would very much like to know the difference between the drink that I made myself and the store bought one. However, I think that I could have been a little mistake buying this Schweppes Ginger Beer as I realize that this is not exactly a Ginger Beer. It is more like an artifical soda drink. Don’t get me wrong, I love soda drinks but what I am looking for is the actual Ginger Beer made from just ginger and spices.

Anyway, I bought this can from Shop n Save for about S$0.80. So I guess somehow it should not really be a real Ginger beer, considering the price is so low. I read the those drinks made from real ginger can cost quite a sum, perhaps like more than a dollar. But let’s not distract that from our little review on this drink. Please note that this is a Ginger Beer, not a Ginger ale. Ginger ales are usually meant for mixing alcoholic drinks or even non-alcoholic mixed drinks. I am not too sure about all those but what I like about Ginger Beer is the bite it gives. Unlike other types of soda drinks, Ginger Beer is probably the only one that can really perk me up without giving me a hangover the next day.

Schweppes Ginger Beer!

Ahhh….the ingredients. It’s the flavouring that is important. The reason why the don’t list down the types of flavouring is supposed to protect their trade secrets. Too bad, I could make use of their flavouring recipe to make my own super Ginger Beer. And oh..look it is made in Singapore. I am supporting my own country when I buy this drink.

I had expected the drink to be black in colour, like those Ginger Beer we buy from Australia. But surprisingly, it is not. That means that this could be natural brewed. Most Ginger Beers are actually made from concentrates and these concentrates are normally dark due to the boiling process. So if you drink a Ginger Beer  that is dark, you are most likely drinking one that has been made from concentrates. But I doubt that this will affect the taste of the drink itself.

As for the taste of this Schweppes Ginger Beer, I feel that it is rather low in flavour, more like an Ginger ale than a Ginger beer. Sure, you can feel the ginger in the drink but it is nothing spectacular. For those used to drinking ginger beer, you would have hardly feel any bite at all. But overall, it is still rather pleasant to drink. The light taste makes it easy for beginners to start drinking Ginger Beer, which actually can be healthy. For me, I think I will need something more potent than this.

Another view of the glass of Schweppes Ginger Beer. I managed to drink finish this glass in just two gulps. Easy drinking. The good thing is that it is not too sweet. I would really hate a Ginger Beer with too much sweetness and no bite. We call that Coke.

F&N Fruit Tree Fresh Pomegranate & Mangosteen (& Mixed Fruit Juice)

1305 days ago

God, what a name for a fruit juice. If the creative juices of their marketing department would be any more creative, they would come with up something better than that. Imagine...

God, what a name for a fruit juice. If the creative juices of their marketing department would be any more creative, they would come with up something better than that. Imagine going to a store and asking for this juice. Before you even finish, your face would be completely blue from the lack of oxygen and that would mean that you remember the name of the juice. If you do, either you are some sort of a genius or you have too much free time in your hands or you are a auntie.

Well, I pick up this pack the other day from NTUC but I didn’t have the time to have a photo taking session and a little taste test. Overall, I find the juice quite interesting.  It is definitely not the usual stuff you find in the stores everyday. The taste is “a bit” sourish, especially at the end. I am guessing that this is the mangosteen juice talking. And when the sourish hits you, it hits you hard. Probably because the mixed juice itself is rather sweet as well. Something like a one-two comb. And I really like it. Too bad about the rawness of the mangosteen juice. I am not saying that it is bad but it does distract the drinker somewhat.  Maybe it is just because I am not a mangosteen fan. Don’t worry about the pomegranate taste, you will hardly feel it in this drink, which is surprising considering that the Pomegranate flavour is usually the dominant one. Shows how strong the mangosteen taste is.

Anyway, I have taken a few photos of the pack.

The one with the crown and the white flesh is the mangosteen while the one with the reddish seeds is the Pomegranate.This juice has no sugar added and is made from 100% juice. Made from pure squeezed juice and concentrates! Hooray!

Wow, mangosteen is a wonder fruit!  It is also high in antioxidant Vitamin C just like the Pomegranate. Normally in Singapore, people would eat mangosteen after eating durians, so I guess it also helps to reduce heatiness? Whatever, just drink it.

Not sure whether you can see from this picture but this contains artifical colourings and preservatives. Not good in my opinion. Hey, looking at the ingredients list, it also contains mango puree! I am guessing that this helps to sweeten the juice because I am pretty sure that the Pomegranate and Mangosteen won’t be sweet at all.

I poured myself a glass of the juice. It does look cloudy, probably because it contains some sort of husks as well as mango puree. You will need some time to get used to the taste but seriously, it is rather delicious. Don’t worry about the sourness, it will go away soon enough once after a few sips. If not, then you should probably stick to drinking pear juice or sugar water.

Another view of the glass of F&N Fruit Tree Fresh Pomegranate & Mangosteen Juice from the side. Looks really like a mixed juice drink.

Well, this is the end of the little review. If you have any juice you would like me to try out, leave me a comment. Better still, send me the drink and I will review it.

Ready For That Christmas Party Catering?

1307 days ago

Yes, it is the time of the year where we get to relax and have a gathering. What better way to do that than to have a Christmas party at the...

Yes, it is the time of the year where we get to relax and have a gathering. What better way to do that than to have a Christmas party at the office right? This way, we can all gather and have a jolly good time while at the same time, do some work. Singapore is all about working, so no matter what, work has to be done. So, after doing your work, you can have a little Christmas party! But before you do that, you need to get the event set up and the food ready. I mean, what is a Christmas party without the food and the drinks? It would like the worst Christmas Party ever. And even with food and drinks, you will need to ensure that the quality of the food is at the very least acceptable.

So with that in mind, I have created a list of food caterers in Singapore. Hopefully this can help you in finding the prefect food caterer for the Christmas Party.  You will have a lot of things to consider when planning for the party. For example, is any of your staff Muslim? You may need to get a food caterer whom is Halal Certified.  How about tables, chairs, utensils, cups, spoons, decorations, napkins and so on. These are very important and must be factored in when you are planning  your event. Of course, there is the budget. How much is your boss willing to spend on the party? And you will need to get the appropriate food for the event. I mean this is a Christmas Party, and the theme should be Christmas like, so should the food. Furthermore, you must plan for the number of staff coming to the party. You won’t want to have too little food (which would be embarassing) or too much food, or else your boss will be pissed that you are wasting money.

Timing is also very important. It is better to “book” the catering service sooner rather than later. If not, you might find that the food caterer do not have any more “slots” for you and you might need to change the date and the time of your Christmas Party. I once had to change the timing due to being late to confirm my booking. So remember to do it early. Don’t expect the food caterers to have unlimited manpower and vehicles, especially during the busy Christmas season.

Anyway, please take a look at the list I have created: Singapore Food Caterers / Food Catering Service. And good luck on your event.

KFC Shrooms Burger

1308 days ago

Have you guys tried KFC’s Shrooms Burger? Well, just yesterday I bought myself a Shrooms Burger value meal and I have taken a few photos of it.  The Shrooms burger tasted...

Have you guys tried KFC’s Shrooms Burger? Well, just yesterday I bought myself a Shrooms Burger value meal and I have taken a few photos of it.  The Shrooms burger tasted like every other burger I have tasted in Singapore – dull and unexciting. Of course, it was edible but that’s about it. The mushrooms weren’t even tasty at all. The slightly dried sauce on the mushroom is plain boring as well. And what was surprisingly is that this Shrooms burger is very small. It can even fit into the palms of my hands. And I don’t have big hands at all. This is Singapore for you. Either you get expensive stuff or you get tiny weeny stuff which you can finish in just one bite.

Here are some of the photos I have taken of the Shrooms Burger. Don’t be shock to see how large this is.

Even my small handphone is wider than the Shrooms Burger. Thank you KFC for taking “value” meals to the extreme. I bet my nephew can finish this without any problems too.

Yes, that’s the sesame seed bun covering the chicken patty and the mushrooms. The Shrooms burger is actually some sort of mushroom burger, so I guess the main thing about this burger is it’s mushroom. However from this photo, I am sure that you can tell that it is just a plain old boring burger. You would NOT be tempted to have a bite unless you are very very hungry. Luckily, I was hungry at that time. If not, I would have thrown it away. Bet the crows would not have even bothered.

Yes, it is that freaking small! Most people can finish this in just 2 bites. Big eaters can finish this in just 1 bite. I often wonder how the management of KFC could show their face to the public when they serve such small burgers. I would have died of shame if I ever did that. But in Singapore, these people are called “elites” and they are special, so they are probably excused from shame since they are driving fancy cars and eating at posh restaurants everyday.

If you are thinking of a hard-tact biscuit to feed your 3 year old kid, I would believe that getting this Shrooms Burger from KFC would be enough. If you are planning to feed yourself, you would probably need 3 to 4 such burgers to fill yout stomach. Truly, it is ridiculous.

eBay Purchases Arrived! Finally!

1309 days ago

It took about 3 weeks to arrive, probably due to the incomplete address of the parcel. I am not someone who complains a lot, but this got me a little pissed....

It took about 3 weeks to arrive, probably due to the incomplete address of the parcel. I am not someone who complains a lot, but this got me a little pissed. The seller did not use the correct address from eBay (which I had updated correctly) but instead made use of the address of my Paypal account (which I used to pay for the stuff). I don’t understand why they did not use the mailing address as this is supposed to be the correct address to use when sending to their customers. Well, luckily, the name was correct and the delivery person finally got the parcel to me, one week late. Nevertheless, I have received the parcel in good order (and very well-packed) and I have taken photos of the stuff I bought.

The stuff I bought online are the Ginger beer concentrate, the Safale US-05 Ale yeast and a reusable nylong hop bag.  Yes, all of them are available in Singapore, but sometimes it is cheaper to get them from overseas and delivered to Singapore.

This is the 10 packs of Safale US-05 dry ale yeast. I have heard great things about this yeast and I am very keen to try this yeast out on my brews. Of course, this is not to say that the Nottingham yeast which I have been using is not good, just that I would like to try something new. And the price of the 10 pack is about US$16. Once converted, it is about S$27. If you purchase from the local homebrew store in Singapore, it would cost about S$75. Surely this is something to consider.

Due date is May 2009 which is quite good. The yeast packs will be kept in the fridge and hopefully, they will still be in good condition when the time comes for me to use them.

This Safale US-05 is an American ale yeast which will produce a well balanced beer with a very clear crisp end palate. That’s what I am looking for in my beers. I guess in Singapore we can only drink lagers. Looks like the sedimentation is medium which means that it can turn out to be a bit cloudy.  I wonder how well would it work on the Cooper’s Australian Pale Ale?

Lol, this is for making homebrew ginger beer. Not the alcoholic kind but those for the kids. Looks like this is an “old time flavor”, whatever that means. You cannot judge by the picture above, but the bottle is very small. And it is supposed to be about to make 4 Gallons of Ginger beer? I find it very doubtful that it could without making the end product taste like plain water.

Nice man, it contains natural gingers and ginseng flavours! Too bad it does come with preservatives (sodium benzoate). I wonder whether that would affect the yeast during carbonation.  Anyway, this would be a great way to try out ginger beer. I had been thinking of making a Ginger beer for sometime already and unlike the Cooper’s Ginger Beer kit which requires some work, this kit seems simple enough. Just pour a tablespoon of the concentrate into a soda bottle, add sugar, top up with some warm water, dissolve, then top up with some cold water and then add in the yeast. After a few days/weeks, you will get carbonated Ginger beer.

Yes, it is a tiny bottle. I still can’t get over the thing that this tiny weeny little bottle can make 15 litres of Ginger beer.  In the box, there are some instructions. Well, when the time comes for me to make the Ginger beer, I will sure to read them. For now, it goes into the fridge.

That’s the 8″ x 9 1/4″ Nylon hop bag. Nothing spectacular here. Just a bag for holding hops when boiling the wort. Since the tea bags which I have been using is now running low on stock, I guess buying something which can be reused makes sense.I am thinking of just going to those convenience store and buying nylon covers for taps. I have seen them selling and it cost like S$0.50 per piece. Cheap, much much cheaper than this “special” nylon bag.

Anyway, that’s the end of the photos which I have taken. Bye.

Australian Pale Ale Recipe

1309 days ago

This is a simple recipe. Actually it is the same as the recipe recommended by Cooper’s themselves with just some addition of hops. I have done this once and my friends...

This is a simple recipe. Actually it is the same as the recipe recommended by Cooper’s themselves with just some addition of hops. I have done this once and my friends really liked it. But the problem is that it is a bit too weak for most. I am not too sure why it feels a bit weak and several of my heavy drinker friends told me that there wasn’t any kick when they drank it. However, if you are looking for a cool refreshing and very tasty drink which also looks good, you should consider making the Australian Pale Ale with this recipe.

Anyway, here goes:

  1. 1.7kg Cooper’s Australian Pale Ale Beer Ingredient Kit
  2. 1kg Cooper’s Beer Enhancer 2 (Light dry malt extract, dextrose and malto-dextrin)
  3. 10g Cascade hops (or less if you are looking for something less hoppy)
  4. 1 pack Nottingham yeast
  5. 12 litres cold water

 Well, as you can see, it is very simple recipe without much headache or effort.

First you boil a pot of water (about 6 litres) and once it starts boiling, turn off the flame and add in the Australian Pale Ale kit. Stir the mixture till it becomes completely dissolved and then add in the hops (in a tea bag). Start boiling the wort again for 5 minutes, flame out and then add in the Beer Enhancer 2. Stir again to dissolve the mixture completely. The next step would be to pour the hot wort into the fermenter and then top up with very cold water. Ensure that the temperature of the cooled wort is about 23 °C before you pitch (brewers’ term for adding) the yeast in. That’s it!

After a few weeks, you will get a very tasty beer for your friends and you to enjoy. Below are some of the photos I have taken for the Australian Pale Ale I made.

To ensure that the colour is nice, light and bright, do not boil the wort for too long. And the hops will affect the colour as well. So, unless you are a hop head, limit the amount of hops or limit the amount of time the hops is being boiled in the wort. Or you can make a “hop tea” seperately and add it to the wort. The hops do add a little aroma to the beer. I have not tried brewing the Australian Pale Ale without any addition of hops before, so I am not sure how it actually affect the recipe.

A more closeup picture of the beer. Makes you feel thirsty right? I hope that you will enjoy this recipe.

Vitasoy Soya Bean Milk Drink

1311 days ago

Was visiting Sheng Siong the other day (getting supplies for the Apfelwein) and found this very interesting drink. Actually, the brand is pretty common in Singapore but I found this in...

Was visiting Sheng Siong the other day (getting supplies for the Apfelwein) and found this very interesting drink. Actually, the brand is pretty common in Singapore but I found this in a glass bottle! Isn’t it cool? So I being a very curious person decided to have a taste of this soya bean milk in a glass. The price is about S$0.75 per bottle and it contains about 300ml of delicious soya bean milk. Perhaps it is slightly more expensive than the same brand in those packs we see everyday but somehow I find that it taste a bit different. In fact, the milk seems to be thicker than what we find in those packets we see outside. I guess the reason is because in order to drink from the milk packs, you will need to suck through a small straw but for the glass bottles, you do not need to do so. You can drink it straight from the bottle. Yes yes, of course you can drink from a straw but the kind of straw used would be bigger as well. If you purchase the packets, you could be drinking diluted soya bean milk. I don’t have any proof and this is just from my observations and my thoughts. If you want to complain to Vitasoy, please don’t quote me.

Anyway, here are some of the photos I have taken.

Yes, this is the Vitasoy Soya Bean Drink in all it’s glory. Nothing spectacular though. I think it would be wise for them to improve on their packaging. A lot of Singaporeans don’t like buying drinks in glass, especially those that require a bottle opener. Lazy slugs these Singaporeans. The only way you can attract Singaporeans to buy your stuff is to make it look good like those Japanese ones.

A more detailed look at the front label. This soya bean drink is a good source of soya proteins, comes with no preservatives added, no cholesterol and is non dairy. Wow! Goodness all around, I think.

Some nutrition information and ingredients for you guys to enjoy.  Too bad, they have added sugar into the drink but all-in-all, I find this drink rather delicious. And no, it isn’t too sweet at all. And yes, it is thick, just like what real Soya Bean milk should be. Furthermore, it doesn’t have this “packety” taste which we normally get when drinking from packets of soya bean milk. Not sure whether that is just in my mind or not.

Made in Hong Kong, not China. Thank god. I don’t like being poisoned.

This is a shot of the milk I poured into a glass. From this photo, you can see that it is slightly viscous which means that it is thicker than what we normally find in the stores.  Nowadays even those hawker centre stores dilute their soya bean milk to the point that it taste and feel like drinking water. If you are old enough, you would have tasted such soya bean milk before. Now it is rare in Singapore.

Another shot of the milk. Looks yummy doesn’t it?

Wow, the glass is now empty? Guess what happened to it?

Well, this is my little review on the Vitasoy Soya Bean drink in a glass. Not expensive, taste great and I would highly recommend it to anyone. Just that it is rather difficult to find in Singapore. One of my friends said that you can find them easily in Malaysia though. Good luck and good drinking! And if you are looking for some online grocery store to buy your stuff, please take a look at the listing of Online Grocery Stores in Singapore.

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