A Night Out at Tosto's

[ Edit: I Promised. :) ]

TOSTO'S

What is it:

Tosto's is… well I'm not sure what it is. I guess you'd call it a café, though I'm not used to having so much food at a café. Either way. It serves you your coffee, espresso, or any latte macchiato concoction you might consider having.

Either way, I've just reached home, from a interesting experience at Tosto's, apparently, Tosto's, along with Nuance Watson, Body Contours, and The Creative Department, had hosted a aptly named 'Blog Party'.

At the 'Party', they had invited a group of bloggers for dinner, to sample the food, and to take part in the sandwich making competition. The winning sandwich makes it to the menu. So. I didn't win, but if you do get there, I believe the two winning sandwiches were Prototype Fish and Diving Dancers… or something and other.

ANYWAY. On with Tosto's.

Why Its Great:

So Tosto's is a café, as consumers, we expect from them:

1. Coffee
2. Good Coffee
3. Lots of Latte

As Tosto's, they give us:

1. Coffee
2. Good Coffee
3. Lots of Latte
4. A slice of Italian Coffee-Related cultures
5. Healthy and Tasteful food

So naturally, that’s good isn't it. ha-ha

First Up: The Coffee


Anyway. At the event, I myself had sampled the Latte, which for non-coffee people is basically espresso with milk.

So I was abit apprehensive, I'm used to my Iced Venti 3 Pumps Vanilla 2 Pumps Hazelnut Latte at Starbucks, which is a tad bit sweeter than a standard latte; naturally, when I order a latte, I expect it to be bitter, boring, and unfinished at the end of the meal.

This was not the case. It’s a good cup of latte. I don't remember putting any sugar in, but the latte was not too bitter for my tastes, which says something. There's that rich taste of the espresso, with the milky frothy substance which I learnt to be known as La Crema [Crème?].

La Crema on Expresso

So that’s the coffee, then there's the food.

If you're there, you MUST try the Mandarin Duck thing. Not sure what its called exactly, but when you're there, and you see the menu, you'll know it. Mandarin Oranges and Duck never tasted so delightful. There's this sweet tang, with the oriental-ish duck breast, making it tangy and refreshing.

Mandarin Duck Thing

Follow that up with a perfectly constructed Ricotta Cheesecake, then a nice cup of latte, or freshly brewed coffee. Before we move on, More pictures of food:





Next, the Ambience.

I don't know a place in Singapore where I can get coffee in a more Italian way than at Tosto's. The espresso machine RIGHTFULLY has its BACK facing AWAY FROM THE CUSTOMER. That’s the way you do it. And at Tosto's, they know their coffee. I should know, they were telling us so much, it felt like a classroom. ['okay class. This is Arabica coffee. This is robusto coffee. Can anyone tell me the difference?'] But I learned lots a new stuff, so no complaints.



Why it Sucks:

Sorry Michael, but I got to do this.

So. Tosto's is great and all, but well, lemme start with the small things, the not so important.

The Menu. Sure, you got good content in the menu, but it’s a folder. It’s a folder with pieces of paper slipped in. I don't know, maybe its just me, but your décor is all classy and exquisite, but your menu is just shabby. So yeah.

The Ambience.

So yeah, its classy, and there's the Italian Culture, until you head to Italy and see what its really like there. Here, you only sit for your coffee, and I was offered cappuccino! At Night! But yeah. Not important.

We Didn't Win.

I guess what really sucks, was that we didn't win. Nah. What was abit of a problem was perhaps the location. Its at the arrival halls of Terminal 3 and 2, at Changi Airport. Not only is it hard to get to, its difficult to enjoy a perfectly crafted cup of coffee with all the hustle and bustle and noisy greetings all around you.

But I like the airport. ):

We didn't even have to pay for the stuff we ate, but I don't know, gut feeling tells me its going to be pricey. So for youths that live off their parents like me, I think this sounds like something you go to barely once a month? I can't say for sure, I had no look at the prices. But then again, I go to Starbucks weekly, so who am I to say?

Should You Get It:

Hmm. Well. Depends I think… no scratch that. I was going to say, if you liked coffee, but no. now I think I might understand why they have so much emphasis on food there. You should go there. I recommend, a Breakfast with your family, on a Saturday perhaps. Even if you don't appreciate good coffee, you'll find the food delighting and worth the trip. I think the first time I was there, I didn't even have any of the coffee. I had the duck orange mandarin wrapthing. And it was all good.

My Rating:


Its good, but the location really sucks, for me really. I don’t know. People of my demographic, headed from school or even home all the way to the airport. Sounds too much of a chore. But say, class gets cancelled, and you're let off school after 2 hours. Tosto's an option.

Where You Can Get It:

As mentioned, currently the only place you can get it is at the Airport, Terminal 2 and Terminal 3, in the Arrival Hall. That’s B2 for Terminal 3 and Level 1 for Terminal 2. I'm not sure if they plan on expanding, but at the moment, you're only going to find them there.

Paintball Party

Who's interested. looking for 10 or more people including myself. Sounds fun?

http://www.weplaypaintball.com/typicalday.html

PING ME

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Halloween

Slash Smashed

Self-Explanatory Michael Jackson

Kenji: '...leave me alone...'

NSFW!!!

Kenji's Self Inflicted Scars

Time to Leave these two alone...

----------------

Now playing on iTunes: Queen - Killer Queen
via FoxyTunes

Sure Fire

How to Get Flamed on the Internet:

#0032: Write an article that compares under and over rated products, like Vista and XP.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/151402/the_10_most_overrated_products.html

For great lulz. More to come. haha

Baked Ribs with BBQ Onion Sauce

Baked Ribs with BBQ Onion Sauce

You'll Need:

1. MasterFoods' BBQ Base
2. Worcestershire Sauce [I like MasterFoods]
   
3. Ketchup [I like Heinz]
4. Mustard [I like MasterFoods]
5. Vingiarette, Salad Dressing or Balsamic
6. Nutmeg
7. Cinnamon
8. Basil
9. 2 Onions
10. 2 Racks of Ribs [QB FTW]

Making the Sauce:

A Bit Of:

1. Ketchup
2. Worcestershire Sauce
3. Vingiarette

A Smaller Bit of:

1. Mustard
2. Nutmeg
3. Cinnamon
4. Basil

A Shit Load Of:

1. BBQ Base

Stir Well. You need 3 small bowls full of it.

Prepping the Ribs:
IMPORTANT: There is a thin membrane on the inside of the ribs, you need to RIP it off. this may prove challenging, but its satisfying.

Take one small bowl of the BBQ sauce you prepped, and RUB it into the Ribs. Really get it in there. If the ribs are coated and you still have sauce left in that bowl, rub some more or just pour it over the ribs. stuff that into the fridge for awhile.

Prepping the thing-that-goes-over-the-ribs-while-it-cooks-that-i-don't-have-the-name-for:
You have 2 onions. chop em into rings.

Take a large saucepan. put just a wee bit of oil, so the sides are slick. Heat it up till its pretty hot.

Throw in them onions, and if there are any rings still stuck in each other, try to split them up unsuccesfully with your spatula. Almost immediately, throw in one bowl of the sauce you prepped and saute the mixture.

Don't undercook it, The onions will be too stiff and spicy, but don't overcook it, the onions should not be soggy. You just need to saute it until its well mixed and the onions are coated and smell awesome.

Final Stretch:
Ribs are ready, take em out of the fridge. [preferably been there for an hour. i only gave it 5 minutes the last time]

Let the onion mixture cool off a little and the ribs warm up a little, WHILE you begin to preheat the oven to 220 C.

Pour that onion mixture under and over the ribs, then stick the ribs into the oven

it should stay there for 40-50 minutes, depending on how well done you want it.

About 5 minutes before you take it out, you want to stick in the last bowl of BBQ sauce to warm it up so you can use it as a dip.

Serve:
Take the ribs out and the sauce, place on the table, and get everyone to the table. eat while piping hot.

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Aimless

4 Songs, Significant This Month:

1. November Rain - Guns and Roses
2. Somebody to Love - Queen
3. Don't Cry - Guns and Roses
4. Kickstart My Heart - Motley Crue

10 Random Facts

1. I'm doing my ICAs now because i actually have nothing better to do. [Epic Fail]
2. Mayonnaise is a freaking awesome condiment for your fries
3. BBQ sauce goes good on a big mac in the right proportions
4. Flock is convenient
5. I can't remember all the random facts i wanted to put in
6. Halloween party is coming soon
7. I should do a cover of Queen's Killer Queen. Sounds pretty fun.
8. I'm running out of facts
9. Kenneth's gonna kill me for taking this from him.
10. He took it from me first though...

5 Random Things on my Table Now:

1. My Laptop
2. My Handphone
3. Shahrum's Laptop
4. Malcolm
5. McWings [Shahrum's]

3 Random Things that i happen to be doing now:

1. Creating a format for each ICA to expediate my completion tonight
2. Thinking
   
3. Listening to Somebody to Love

1 Random Person on my mind:

1. 
   

Okay back to work. Hope you like my lists. take em if you must.

Motor Oil

Just as Aston Martin symbolizes James Bond, this Aston Martin in particular pretty much sums up what i thought of Quantum of Solace:

Quantum of Solace

Not exactly what i had expected. This is perhaps the first review that gets less than 3 out of 5 stars from me.

What is it:

James Bond - The Quantum of Solace is the 22nd 007 Movie. It promises to be a relaunch of Casino Royale, continuing the story. And continue it does; as soon as the movie starts, it picks up right where it left off, Bond running from henchmen, with Mr. White in the boot of the car. Right into the action.

What Makes it Great:

Intense Action Scenes. This is probably the movie's strongest point. At least 50% of the movie time was spent in some sort of a gunfight.

and jeez. i really can't think of anything else. its that bad.

i guess the motor oil. haha. you'll have to watch it for that.

Why it Sucks:

The plot was straightforward and predictable. I expected some twist somewhere to add another 30-45 minutes to the show, but no. everything went as smooth and as plain as butter. it only lasted 1 hour 45 minutes. which should say something about the content.

The Sunday Times review noted that "following Casino Royale was never going to be easy, but the director Marc Forster has brought the brand’s successful relaunch crashing back to earth — with a yawn"; the screenplay "is at times incomprehensible" and the casting "is a mess." The review concludes that "Bond has been stripped of his iconic status. He no longer represents anything particularly British, or even modern. In place of glamour, we get a spurious grit; instead of style, we get product placement; in place of fantasy, we get a redundant and silly realism."

There really was no point. here. i'm going to type out the movie's plot:

[Begin Spoilers]Bond kills alot of people.[End Spoilers]

Another thing i didn't like of the movie was the utter lack of bond-ness. No cool gadgets, the aston martin gets like 90 seconds of screen time, before being utterly wrecked. there's no smooth deceit and spy action. And most shocking of all, nobody betrays bond.

The only real bond to bond-girl relationship in the movie is Bond and M. which is quite sad really. and no. craig doesn't screw judi.

My Rating:


Thats it. this room is cold. lol. okay yeah thats all i'm giving it. its disappointing. i expected alot more from this movie. and a bond movie should never disappoint.

Should You Watch It:

No. I wouldn't recommend that you do, there's nothing that sets this bond movie apart from another lowbit action movie. If you're looking for a mindbending plot, smooth sleek bondness, sexy aston martins and ingenious improvisation, this is not going to satisfy.

Where You Can Watch It:

Any Cinema should have it, so that's your problem solved. [jeezus this room is cold]

YouTube Stuffs

Okay this is hella cool. youTube has been implementing some really cool stuff of late. first is this:



Yeah. youtube really put it in. how cool is that?


another is this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7g0Ox-2c3M&feature=related

sure cheesy but check out the comments. apparantly you can now hyperlink 0:39 in your comments. its like. you used to have to slowly seek through the video, and it didn't always work at that exact time, so you had to watch abit more than you want to get to that time.

now you just click the link! hella awesome! [i sung along]

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Walkabout

the sunglasses went on first. thats for sure

the wig followed shortly after

the wristband wrapped around and buckled.

the lanyard was hooked to the belt

and then lastly, the top hat.

Its Halloween, and i'm slash.



we did the walkabout today. not much of one. more like a 'travelling' than a walkabout.

[dapper]

Started from the usual friday night rendezvous point, had dinner. i then geared up and we all left for one fullerton. i was slash. keith was chris martin, kenneth went as the guy who doesn't want to dress up, and huiwen was 'the only girl in her class who knew what "dapper" meant. or the girl that turned "dapper" into a seemingly foreign word'.

Was pretty fun, but it kinda sucks that not many Singaporeans about don't seem to appreciate halloween. or maybe that all of them got invited to parties.. ah well. one guy did recognize me, or rather... acknowledged... that he recognized me. he turned at me and said...

"Hey Axl!" and \m/ed

i just said "Hey!" and \m/ed back.

at least he tried. lol.

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October 31st Walkabout

Alright, i'm planning a walkabout on halloween day. its prolly gonna entail meeting somewhere, travelling via mrt to a central, crowded area like orchard, and then walking around, entering starbucks etc, all in costume.

everything depends on how many people we can get. its like 5 days away so you guys who have your gear please join up yeah. contact me!

other readers are welcome to join too, email me @ insomnia.1014@gmail.com. will be fun.

QUICK, TIME IS RUNNING OUT

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Halloween Party Shenanigans

alright folks, remember The All Seeing 'I': ate-y?

Well, i hope you guys are hyped up about it, because i am. but i got bad news. we've got to postpone it to the 15th of november. so the halloween party will happen two weeks after halloween. uh. yeah. and at the same time we'll be celebrating not one, but 2 birthdays at the party as well. care to guess?

so yeah. i apologize for needing to push this back but yeah. either way. you guys still contact me on MSN maybe we can organize a walkabout or a get together on halloween night, could still be fun, Contact Me!

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HAT UPDATE

Lets follow up.

STAGE 3: Coloring and Texturing

No Text, lazy, haha.



AND THE SMALL ONE:

Top Hat

If any of you have ever tried doing slash for halloween, on a budget, you'd know how hard it is to find a suitable tophat. that flare at the top, the nice bendy up rim thing, and the conchos, well. i got fed up of searching. so i decided to make my own. with some metal wire and lots of duct tape.

so. i drafted 4 stages

STAGE ONE: Framework



here you can see the wig that dad got from the states [thanks dad!], and the frame of the hat coming to shape. i used 3 rings of wire, started from a base ring, then made 8 slightly bent struts jutting out. it was messy at first, then i added another smaller ring, to hold it in the center. then it started to take shape. the final ring made it rigid, and made it stop looking like a crown. all held together by tape.

here i cheated a little. that styrofoam crown you see was originally meant only for measurement and forming. then i decided to stick the metal 'tube' onto it, turning it into the rim of the hat. how's it look? haha

so i brought all that, the wig, the hat, the accessories, down for friday night starbucks, where we wore it most the night. haha

STAGE 2: Covering



so here i added more tape to the inside, to cover it up in a complete layer, excluding the top. i intend to get black tape, maybe electrical tape to texture the outer layer. so now the outside is sticky and ugly. just wait and see. but first, hat with wig:



so thats where it is right now. tomorrow i'll move on to stage three, texturing and coloring, and then stage 4, final touches.

anyway there's this too:



which was inspired by:

Karma

Something's happening. i'm doing alot of things wrong. today was shit. i refuse to comment. this must be karma. i'm messing up all the small things slowly, one day at a time and eventually the shit will hit the fan.

there's this invisible line i walk around, and suddenly i realize its far far behind me. someone help me, i'm on the wrong side.

need to find a way to redeem myself for today. will see what happens.

Alike

I SWEAR THEY LOOK ALIKE

DAVID COULTHARD:


DAVID HASSELHOFF:


DAVID COULTHARD: [ignore cheeks. i mean seriously, wtf.]


DAVID HASSELHOFF:




...just saying.

Singapore Grand Prix

Singapore GP

Singapore hosts their first F1 race. i feel like doing an article. but with no photos or on site interviews, i'm gonna take material from other places. but not now. first, the highlights. crudely put. i'll quote the commentators to describe the incident, with an accompanying image.

NELSINHO PIQUET'S CRASH [Renault]

"...got a faster car, lewis'..."

"OH BIG CRASH. That's Nelsinho Piquet!"

Following this crash, the safety car came out and two cars incurred penalties, as they were forced by lack of fuel to pit, when the pits where closed. this is the crash that would change the entire race.

MASSA PIT INCIDENT [Ferrari]

"...took more fuel in there, and tak..."

"OH NO THAT'S A BIG MISTAKE, MASSA'S GONE, NOT FOR THE FIRST TIME, FERRARI'S LIGHTED SYSTEM ON THEIR RELEASE... HE'S TAKEN THE HOSE WITH HIM AS WELL I THINK, THEY'VE GOT THE SPARE HOSE READY AND THAT IS THE RACE LEADER, FILIPE MASSA WHO HAS MADE A CATASTROPHIC MISTAKE, HERE IN SINGAPORE, AND IT MAY WELL COST HIM THE GRAND PRIX... FERRARI! A touch on the tires, in frustration. Its happened again, for ferrari."

"Well, Massa's down, if they take the fuel hose off..."

Massa was in first position when he entered. apparantly, the indicator lights told him to go, but the fuel hose was still locked in. Massa had to stop at the end of the pit, while he waited for the pit crew to run to him and yank the fuel hose out, which was, dramatically, jammed. Massa rejoined the race in last place.

amidst the chaos, hamilton had fallen from 2nd to 8th place, and Rosberg was leading the race. Fernando Alonso, who was most promising during the practice and qualifier sessions, had moved from his starting position of 15th to 5th.

The complicated scenario saw Toyota's Jarno Trulli in the lead on lap 28 but without having pitted with Alonso second, Rosberg third and Hamilton charging in sixth.

With Trulli taking his first pit stop soon after Alonso amazingly found himself in front just after the halfway mark with a 4.9 second lead over Rosberg.

When David Coulthard pitted soon after, he too drove off with the fuel pipe attached, knocking over a mechanic who was stretchered off with an injured ankle.

ADRIAN SUTIL AND MASSA ON TURN 18 [Force India]

"... and Massa pulls... OH"

"OH"

"Water on the track there, and what happens is those safety barriers, the crash barriers there, tend to get water in..."

Massa slides into the crash barrier prior, and sends a bit of water on to the track. as massa pulls away, adrian sutil comes in and misses the turn, losing grip slightly, crashing into the barrier. the car's front brakes catch fire, but the flames are quickly extinguished. a safety car is dispatched, and this brings alonso's 30 second lead down to less than 5 seconds.

FERRARI GETS ELIMINATED AT TURN 10 [Kimi Raikkonen]

"...Ferrari team driving away with the fuel hose attached; the reason for that, if you're just joining... OH"

"OH ITS THE WALL"

"Right into the wall"

"Goes the Ferrari, of Kimi Raikkonen, from 5th place, so its gonna be no points for Ferrari here."

"He caught those curbs, those concrete chunks on the curbs. Put him into the air slightly. He really hit them badly, just launched off the final one..."

Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari's last hope of scoring anything on this track, crashes into the barrier with only four laps to go. at this point, with massa far behind, Ferrari's hopes for this race have been crushed.

ALONSO WINS SINGAPOREGP [Renault]

"...his first victory of the season, and Renault's first win of the season, and the twentieth, of the man's career... Fernando Alonso coming through, to take the checkered flag and claim a very, very well deserved victory in formula one's first ever night race. Second is Rosberg..."

And thus ends the Singapore GP.

Now, the scores.


sigh. poor Massa. the internet will show him no mercy. poor ferrari.

also, david coulthard looks like david hasselhoff. just saying.

[EDIT: Edited 'Gran Prix' to 'Grand Prix']