Crazy Rich Asians: A Tale of Two Movies

The people at the Singapore Tourism Board must feel pretty happy at the year thus far. Barely two months after hosting the historic Trump-Kim summit that catapulted Singapore into the spotlight to the Western world, it is now the setting of a Hollywood film with a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

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Is it The Central or Clarke Quay Central?

Pop quiz time: What’s the name of the shopping mall located right outside Clarke Quay MRT Station?

I was at the shopping mall situated right outside Clarke Quay MRT station that I knew to be “The Central” some two years ago, looking for a restaurant that I read about online. After a fruitless search based on the unit number, I decided to approach the information counter, only to realise that the restaurant I was looking for was located at Central Mall.

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Tulipmania 2018 at Gardens by the Bay

Long before the Bitcoin bubble, there was a–believe it or not–tulip bubble, back in the 1600s in the Netherlands. At the time, the newly-introduced flower enchanted the country with its uniquely colourful petals and led to a speculative bubble, which, at its peak, led to tulip bulbs selling for more than the price of a house. If you’re interested, there’s a movie Tulip Fever featuring Alicia Vikander (now of Tomb Raider fame) which was set during that time period.

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i Light Marina Bay 2018

Now in its sixth edition, i Light Marina Bay 2018 is currently running until 1st April. It's technically also the last edition of i Light Marina Bay as the festival of lights will be renamed i Light Singapore from next year onwards to reflect its expansion into the Civic District. I took a quick walk last Friday night after work to soak in the festivities.

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Manekineko: K Box, reinvented

Back in the early 2000s, the name K Box, to Singaporeans, was perhaps synonymous with karaoke. It offered decent prices relative to its competitors like Party World KTV, had many outlets islandwide, possessed the latest the largest song collection and also served meals, tidbits and refreshments.

Then, Teo Heng burst into the scene around 2007 with its first outlet at Katong Shopping Centre. It offered a no-frills concept, charging by room size instead of per pax, at far more affordable rates. While it didn’t offer any food or beverages, it allowed you to bring in your own food and (non-alcoholic) drinks,  a trade-off most people are more than happy to accept. Originally situated at less accessible places like Katong and Sembawang, it has since expanded to places such as JCube, Rendezvous Hotel and Suntec City. Today, it’s safe to say that Teo Heng has displaced K Box as the first thing that comes to mind when you say ‘karaoke’.

Meanwhile, K Box went through some tough times. Many of its outlets were shuttered, perhaps due to poor business, and it made the news in 2014 for the wrong reason–hackers managed to access K Box’s database and leaked personal particulars of its 300,000 members.

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Christmas Wonderland at Gardens by the Bay – Mini Photo Essay

Unlike the two previous editions of Christmas Wonderland, this year’s edition charges an entrance fee ranging from $4 to $8. Call it human psychology, but Christmas Wonderland feels a little more appealing with an entrance fee put in place. You would expect a ticketed event to be better organised, with a line-up of activities and food in a carvinal-like atmosphere, rather than what seems to be little more than an over-glorified Christmas display.

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My 1st Jay Chou Concert — Great Start, Lacklustre Finish

Like most other Singaporean Chinese teens in the mid-2000s (or at least those who listened to Mandopop), Jay Chou was a constant in my playlist. Don’t ask me how–but I ended up having every of his albums in my iPod then.

I never got a chance to attend his concerts, though. Maybe I wasn’t that big of a fan, or perhaps his tickets were just too expensive. Meanwhile, I made do by listening to his concert CDs, which I enjoyed very much, because of the way he would try to sing the song in a slightly different way each time.

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Game of Thrones: The Winds of Winter — A Fitting Finale

What a finale. The Winds of Winter was by far, if not the best, one of the best episodes of Game of Thrones ever. Instead of leaving us with a cliffhanger (is Jon Snow dead or alive?), the episode deftly tied up most of the loose ends and for once, provided more answers than questions. …

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Batman v Superman: Still a Better Movie Than Deadpool

The first movie I watched in 2016 was Deadpool. Due to work commitments, it had been a while since I last watched a movie, so I was hoping it would be a great one. In the end, I left the theatre feeling the same way I did after watching Green Lantern–completely underwhelmed (Note to self: …

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i Light Marina Bay — Carnival of Lights

The 4th edition of i Light Marina Bay (iLBM), held once every two years since 2010 (and slated to be an annual event starting from 2016), is currently underway until 27th March. Billed as Asia’s leading sustainable light art festival, you’ll find some pretty interesting light art pieces as well as a carnival area, featuring …

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