Spotted! #7

Ok ok, I do feel a little mean for posting this...

...but I was just speechless when I saw this tall and actually not too bad looking guy with brown hair wearing a ROYAL PURPLE JUMPSUIT (yes, a one-piece jumpsuit) and holding an LV handbag on the bus.


Look at his nice legs!
And YES, I am sure it was a guy!

It's been a year...

Happy birthday to my blog!

Food Bytes: Special Occasions (Morton's the Steakhouse)

Had a special birthday occasion to celebrate, so I made reservations at Mortons. The last time I was there was before the mad cow disease and the subsequent ban on US beef, so you can imagine how long ago that was.

Telling them in advance that we were there to celebrate a birthday paid off. They had prepared a special table for us, decorated with shiny bits...

... and a customised menu. Little touches like that probably don't cost very much, but definitely help make the occasion more memorable.

After we had sat down and made ourselves comfortable they gave us their usual presentation of the menu with the various cuts of meat, selection of veggies and seafood. This practice is not really uncommon, but personally I must say I'm not that keen to see cuts of raw food, or a live lobster waving its claws at me just prior to getting slaughtered.

Mortons is famous for its beef, and they do pretty large cuts of it. The waiter was not pushy about whether we ordered 2 mains or shared 1, although he did gently remind us that they would be happy to help us wrap up leftovers to take home. We noticed with amusement that they had renamed their "ladies cut" as a "slightly smaller steak". Probably to make the guys feel better about ordering it?

The famous Mortons Onion Bread...

*Shinta ordered "shrimp" as his appetiser, so I was imagining some really small pale looking prawns and was really surprised when the waiter appeared with 3 huge grilled prawns cooked with butter. As you can probably guess, I stole some!

My oysters were fresh and juicy. I'm not a fan of the large fat ones (bit gross for me), so these medium sized ones suited me just fine.

*Shinta's medium Porterhouse steak...

My "slightly smaller" New York Strip...

Done medium rare just the way I like it!

We also ordered a side dish of sauteed buttom mushrooms to share. Really liked it a lot despite the fact that we were so full.

Dessert was the "Morton's Legendary Hot Chocolate Cake" which came complete with a candle and waiters gathering around to sing Happy Birthday with great gusto. The staff also took our photo and presented us with it in a signed card from them. During the course of our 2hour dinner there, we heard the birthday song sung no less than 5 times. According to the waiter, apparently up to 10 times a night is "normal"!

The chocolate cake was liquid on the inside. This was the slightly sweeter version, less rich and easier to finish than my favorite one at Pump Room.

At the end of dinner, we departed happy, and like most others, holding a take away bag.

The cold steak and mushrooms were still excellent the next day. Mortons is probably not as accessible a restaurant to most since they specialise in steak, but for those who do like beef, its great to pay them a visit every now and then. If only we could afford to go more often!

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Morton's the Steakhouse
Mandarin Oriental, 4th Storey, 5 Raffles Avenue, Marina Square
Tel: +65 6339 3740
Hours: 5.30pm to 11.00pm(Mon to Sat), 5.00pm to 10.00pm (Sun)
http://www.mortons.com/singapore//
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Handyman

Table from Ikea: $39
# of screws and badly pre-drilled holes: 20
Handdrill from Black & Decker: $33

Total cost: $72

Spotted! #6

Thanks to a friend for pointing out this one from The Straits Times Online.

Headline: Protectionism lauded at Apec

Text: Economists and academics have praised the outcome of last week's Asia-Pacific economic Cooperation (Apec) forum here for its strong anti-protectionist stance and the promise to keep...

Spin the wheel!

The rear right side of the car is really an unlucky spot. All 3 accidents we've had involved denting that exact spot above the wheel over and over again. Luckily each time we had decided not to bother to repair, otherwise that would really be money down the drain!

About a year ago I somehow managed to somehow puncture the rear right tyre while turning into a carpark. It was totally flat by the time we returned from lunch and had to be replaced.

This time round, *Shinta was the one who punctured the very same tyre (stupid confusing roads at Havelock carpark where you must alternate keeping left and right as you turn!!!). We didn't realise it at first and continued to drive on unsuspectingly (testimony to the Citroen's excellent suspension!). We found out only after we entered a carpark and 3 different groups went out of their way to tell us we had a flat. Never let it be said that Singaporeans are unhelpful!

Anyway, changing tyres is expensive. We ended up changing all 4 wheels because it was "about time". Be careful when you drive!

Victor Victoria! Is She a King or is He a Queen?

Caught the musical Victor Victoria with a friend. Originally starring Julie Andrews in the 1982 original, this version featured Laura Fygi as Victoria Grant / Count Victor Grazinski.

Here's my take on the 2h30min show.

(Warning: while the show itself is PG, the content is probably NOT suitable for the young, and those uncomfortable with gay themes!)

The Singing
Starting off a little shaky, Laura Fygi managed to warm up and give an entertaining performance. Her voice was easily the best and strongest of the entire cast. Matt Greg's Carroll Todd the Queen who helps Victoria with her act was easily the most fun and enjoyable character.

Nicole Ainton who played the (intentionally) annoying dumb blonde Norma Cassidy managed to bring across her high pitched whining role with such humour that one couldn't help but forgive her character. Jake Macapagal's King Marchan (the Chicago gangster who falls for Victoria) made me nervous because he had a strong Philippines accent while speaking, which somehow managed to give way to a strong accent-free singing voice.

In fact, the rest of the cast had really terrible inconsistent accents. The mixed international cast which included Singaporeans just couldn't hang on to their fake French / American accents consistently. It's a bit disconcerting to hear someone start off in a Singaporean accent only to complete the sentence in a fake American one.

The Dancing
The male dancers were pretty good, well co-ordinated and with exciting dance moves. The ladies on the other hand... it was pretty sloppy to be totally honest. They definitely needed more rehearsals.

The Music
I liked the band and the jazzy numbers, but don't expect catchy songs that you can hum along to as you wash the dishes or fold the laundry.

The Wardrobe
I actually loved the brightly sequined costumes that flashed beautifully under the stage lights during the dance scenes, but there were too many wardrobe errors to be forgiven...

First Victoria's bracelet flew off her wrist and managed to get kicked around by the dancers on stage until one of them finally managed to pick it up and throw it into the wings. Second one of the dancers lost his hat during a dance move where he had to put it on the floor, and there it remained for quite a while. Third, a white piece of cloth from someone's costume managed to fall off while dancing and there it lay on front of the stage again...

Overall, I still did enjoy the show. Our mistake was probably going so early in the run, when the cast hadn't yet polished their roles enough. Victor/Victoria is showing at the Esplanade until the end of the month, so you can still catch it if you want.