While I’m hardly a food blogger, here’s someone who is!

Anyway, I had a good meal last night, and I just thought I’d record it for posterity. I’m normally not a spice person, for reasons I will explain later, but dinner was an experience so I’m glad I went for it.

Ambrosia is located at two places (one Halal and one non-Halal) along Bussorah Street (off Arab Street) and serves Middle Eastern and Southern European cuisine. Their current promotion, the all-day a-la-carte buffet at $12.10 is essentially a tapas extravaganza. I use “tapas” - the Spanish word for “appetiser” - simply because the Spaniards have made full meals out of their appetisers due to the range. Ambrosia takes this concept to a whole new level.

We started with the Royal Dip Platter, essentially four Middle Eastern dips served with pita bread. These included the all-important hummus (a chickpea puree), el pan ajo (garlic and sesame), tzatziki (cucumber, yogurt and lemon) and mint sauce. This was followed by Briwattes, which was essentially fried spring rolls with a Moroccan chilli dip.

For our next couple of dishes, we went with the awesome Marrakesh Wings (arguably the best chicken wings I’ve ever had) and Beef Kebab (one of several non-tapas main courses). This was, unfortunately, the high point of the meal. The food that followed just couldn’t meet our now-high expectations. The Minted Chicken was a poor shadow for the Marrakesh Wings and the Kofta (spiced lamb sausage) was charred just enough to NOT be enjoyable.

We then went South European and tried the Parmigiana di Melanzane (slices of eggplant topped with salsa and cheese) which wasn’t too bad, but not my kinda thing. By this time, I was the only one not quite feeling full, so I ordered the Lamb Khoresh (a Persian stew) which was way too spicy for me to really enjoy and finished off with the Patatas Bravas (potato wedges) - which was a poor choice to end the meal, on hindsight.

We complemented the meal with a glass of their signature drink, Ambrosia Divine, which was essentially a mix of mango, lime, honey and probably a dash of apple or orange, as far as I could tell. Whatever it was, it was an excellent choice, but unfortunately was counted over and above the buffet price.

Despite the little issues I had with the food here and there, the meal on the whole was definitely a lot more enjoyable than most dining experiences, and cost a little less than $20 per person. This morning was another story though. Without making you lose whatever food you currently may have in YOUR stomach while reading this… lets just say that I could win a chemical war with the gas my body was producing. I’ll definitely head back and give Ambrosia another try if their buffet promotion still exists, but not till I’ve totally detox-ed my body.

You can check out their website and menu at http://www.ambrosiacafesingapore.com/

… do something nice for them that wasn’t expected.

I had spent the night at NTU CSA FOC, so my mother messaged and called me this morning to make sure I was prepared to go to work on time. This, even though she should be getting as much rest as possible. This, even though it was her birthday today. Happy birthday, Mum! =)

Then when I headed down to the Wisma Atria Basement to buy breakfast at Breadtalk, an observant staff went out of her way to pick up a tray and tongs for me, brightening up my day so much I decided to go with BOTH my choices a Lemon Leaf AND a Smart Aleck. Now, people who know me know I’m not too fond of Breadtalk and feel its overrated, but either I was really hungry this morning, or they were the best pastries I’ve had in a long while. I should have started with the Smart Aleck and worked my way towards the Lemon Leaf, though… the cream from the former simply negated any tangy aftertaste the Lemon Leaf would have given me.

So yeah, just a reminder to be that little bit EXTRAordinary today. You never know how something small and easy can be the perfect start to someone’s day.

More like Order of the Day…

The latest Harry Potter movie is just as visually stunning as the previous four, and filled with such classy British thespians, it’s almost a crime to critique the movie. But critique it I must, for it was most definitely a disappointment after the brilliance of The Goblet of Fire. Sure Katie Leung (whom I am most definitely weird for appreciating) has a bigger role as Cho Chang, but it almost feels like everyone has a cameo in this film. Except for Daniel Radcliffe, of course who, playing Harry Potter for the whole movie franchise, is arguably the biggest child star of any generation.

Still, the weird pacing of the movie and the overflowing of characters didn’t stop Jason Isaacs (as Lucius Malfoy) and Alan Rickman (as Severus Snape) from truly making the most out of their limited appearances. Pity Rickman’s age is showing though… despite being 61, he made Snape look 70. Nonetheless, it was simply brilliant to see these two Brits on the wrong side of 40 looking just dashing in long hair.

Natalia Tena (as Nymphadora Tonks) is gorgeous, and I think the purple hair really works for her. Thank goodness though… since Cho Chang doesn’t seem to be making an appearance in Book 7, it’s a good thing I’ve got Tonks to watch out for.

Anyway, lovely sets, magnificent cinematography, and finally, someone made it blatantly obvious that Potter is Star Wars for the next generation. Despite all that, though, a poorly developed plot and too much time-wasting puts Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at a solid 7 out of 10. A summer blockbuster of 2007 that didn’t stand out that much, unfortunately.

Just got this link from direcow… it’s a brilliant advertising campaign from a German job agency. Check it out!

My personal favourite. Reminds me of my own Technical Writing job. Wouldn’t mind being surrounded by all that cash though! Hahaha…

http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2007/07/06/life-is-just-too-short-for-the-wrong-job/

“The last time Optimus Prime said this,” I began as I turned my head in Greg’s direction, “he died!”

But that’s just the beauty of the film. Despite all the worries that Transformers fandom had about this summer blockbuster of the year, director Michael Bay silenced most, if not all of his critics with an action packed alien invasion thriller with loads of comedy elements. Most importantly, of course, he delievered a re-imagining of the cult franchise that was worthy of the heritage built around it. The pacing of the movie was almost top-notch, and although it did seem like there was a little too much happening at one time, Bay expertly handled all the different subplots together without much trouble.

While I think Shia LeBouf performed admirably as the lead character, it was really the supporting cast that truly made the film enjoyable to watch. Josh Duhamel of Las Vegas fame held his own as the main military hero despite being little more than a token support character. John Tuturro was absolutely brilliant as the smarmy head of Sector 7 while Jon Voight’s Secretary of Defence was a blast to watch. Voight, in particular, seemed perfectly casted as he added a sense of credibility and class to the cast of characters.

But ultimately the heroes were the Transformers themselves. It is a testament in itself that the voice actors behind the robots were able to truly embody the sense of being titans among insects. Peter Cullen, the original voice of Optimus Prime continues to be the definitive sound of robotic heroism and, for this movie, brought with him a sense of emotion and sometimes humour.

Despite there being way too many Bay-isms - trademarks of the director that were blatantly obvious at times - I think this movie benefitted greatly from the Spielberg touch, who probably prevented it from being dumbed down too much. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop relative newcomers Megan Fox and Rachael Taylor from being little more than stereotypical eye candy, and Taylor’s intelligent and gorgeous character in particular seemed extremely forced especially when it was painfully obvious that the actress had no clue about the techno-babble she was saying half the time.

Definitely a movie worth rewatching. I give it 9 out of 10.

Afterthought
As I watched Transformers in the huge Cathay hall, I could only think one thought - “Star Trek will be so cool”. For those not in the know, there will be a new Star Trek movie in 2008, which will reintroduce the characters of Kirk and Spock to a new generation of fans, just like what Transformers did. The Star Trek movie will be scripted by the team of Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman, who also wrote the screenplay for Transformers and for Mission Impossible: 3. Of course, a lot will also depend on the skills of the lead actors who have yet to be officially casted, but if Orci and Kurtzman can bring their style of combining hardcore geek elements and mainstream entertainment seamlessly, then this re-imagining of Star Trek will be everything fans have hoped it would be.

I asked En out for lunch today - the annual Pete meets En event (though technically speaking, I think we missed last year’s). We were originally supposed to have gone out on Monday, but then she had to work, so she offered to treat me today. Being the self-delusional epitome of chivalry, I declined the offer (hence the ‘chivalry’) but like the idiot I am, I suggested she make the 10 minute walk over from her workplace to Takashimaya instead (hence the ‘delusional’). I still have no idea what I was thinking, since 10 minutes there and back meant that she could only spend half an hour at most. GAH. Nonetheless, it was a good lunch and by ‘good’, I basically mean no awkward moments or strange silences - which I totally fear when I’m with anyone.

But back to the title of this post - the extremely courteous staff of the Coffee Club branch in Kinokuniya. I believe the natural competition between higher-end cafes like tcc and Coffee Club have led to their staff be on the best behaviour at all times so as to prevent their competitors from getting an advantage in that area. I have developed a new-found appreciation for F&B professionals as a result. It is especially impressive how they can relax and chit-chat among themselves when there are no customers in the outlet, but the second a potential customer appears, the professional sheen is unmistakable, and they are attending to you 101%.

There’s a lesson for me to learn in all this, of course. There’s nothing like a clear outward expression of your duty and obligation to truly set yourself apart from others in the same profession. Too often, I give myself the excuse that I’m not truly doing a job I love, be it a part-time job, or my studies, or some of my obligations in the parish, and therefore find no need to maintain that outward expression of duty. I realise only now how much one stands out when that poor attitude is taken, and how much more gratifying it is to those around to see an attitude that befits the occupation. Whether it is as a technical writer during my attachment at Autodesk Asia, or in my discernment process in my journey with the Franciscans, it is a new-found appreciation for showing the best of myself at all times and in whatever I do.