Saturday, January 3, 2015

2015

I decided to start something new again.
Planning to post 1 picture a day in 2015, with a short description. don't know how long I will last doing this anyway. 

Here's my first picture for 2015. 

001. New year in Hong Kong 😊🎉


2015.02

This is my second picture post for the year. 

This is taken at hong kong's avenue of the stars, over looking the Hong Kong islands. Great view. 

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Home-made fish chowder recipe



Very long time back I remember very well when I took my first sip of fish chowder from fish & co., I was immediately awe-strucked!!

That very moment I decided I should attempt this recipe. Here's how I did it, yes tweaked to my liking:


  • Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • 600ml fish stock, made from 1 fish stock cube
  • 225g potatoes, peeled and halved
  • 300ml full cream milk
  • 500g fish, chopped (you can use any fish like salmon, halibut. I used barramundi fish)
  • 4 tbsp cream (I used cheddar cheese to ticken the soup instead)
  • 250g vegetables (I used a mixture of broccoli, mushroom and carrots)
  • small bunch coriander, chopped
  • 1 tsp mixed herbs (mix of oregano, rosemary and thyme)
  • black pepper and salt to taste 

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat, then add the onion and garlic. Cook for 5 mins until the onion is soft. Stir in the flour, then cook for a further 2 mins.
  2. Pour in the fish stock and bring it up to a gentle simmer. Add the fish, potatoes and carrots in and simmer for 10-12 mins covered until the fish and vegetables are cooked through.
  3. Add the broccoli, mushroom, mixed herbs and season with salt and pepper. Then stir in the milk gently on low heat simmer for 5 mins covered.
  4. Finally add the cream or cheese to ticken the soup and then simmer for 1-2 mins more. Check the seasoning. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve with some bread.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Easy home-made lemon honey ginger tea recipe


Drinking lemon honey ginger tea regularly can be helpful in many ways. This simple and refreshing tea can be enjoyed cold or hot - whatever way you prefer.

The individual ingredients of a lemon honey ginger tea is also often used to help ease cold and flu symptoms through a combination of unique and natural medicinal qualities that boost the immune system.

Ingredients

  • Fresh ginger, small piece peeled and thinly sliced (you can use more if you prefer more spicy taste to your tea)
  • Water, 3 cups
  • Honey, 1 Tablespoon (more or less according to your sweetness)
  • Lemon, 1 piece cut into small and thin wedges
  • Tea powder, 4 Tablespoons (you can use bags, flavored tea or red tea. It's your choice)

Directions

1. Place ginger, powdered tea and water in a saucepan over low heat. Put the lid on and let it boil for about 10 minutes. Once it's 10 minutes, turn off the fire and continue to let the saucepan sit covered for atleast another 10 minutes. This allows the ginger and tea to be infused.

If you are using a teapot, add ginger and tea powder in the teapot and pour boiling water in it. Let it rest covered for atleast 15 minutes.

2. Strain the tea through a sieve to remove the ginger and tea powders.

3. Add lemon slices and honey to the sieved tea and drink it immediately if you like it hot. 

If you want cold tea, let your tea cool down, store it in the fridge and add ice cubes before serving.

4. Be experimental by adding other ingredients that you like. You can add camomile, cinnamon, orange or even mint.

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Xiaomi - revolution to the mobile industry


Xiaomi has been the new revolution to the mobile industrty this few years.

who are they are why are their phones selling like hotcakes??

(this is where it gets technical)

"Xiaomi was founded in April 2010 by ex-Kingsoft CEO Lei Jun, as a software company creating a new custom ROM based on Google’s Android. Their aim was to provide additional functionality that Android had yet to offer and an easy to use user interface. MIUI, the ROM which the team created, became a huge success and has been ported to many devices. As of 2014 MIUI can be downloaded and installed to over 200 devices in both English and Chinese, even non developers can easily install MIUI to their phones using the MIUI Express APK. As of the end of 2013 Xiaomi had over 30 million MIUI users worldwide! Very impressive for such a young company!
The MIUI ROM was likened to Apple’s iOS for being very easy to use whilst providing sophisticated services such as cloud backup, an easy to use music player and their own app store. The team at Xiaomi have alwasy wanted users to feel part of the company and happily take on fan feedback via multiple channels and update the ROM every Friday with bug fixes, optimisation and additional features. To good to be true? Well try it out for yourself as it’s probably available for your device already..." from Gizchina

Xiaomi products

Xiaomi says it sold more than 26m smartphones in the first half of the year, almost four times the 7m it sold in the same period a year ago, and is on track to reach 60m handset sales by Christmas.




Xiaomi Mi 3



Based on specifications, the Xiaomi Mi 3 is superior to the other two Android flagship smartphones as compared below:

The Xiao Mi 3 phone reigns superior through a Faster Processor, Custom Android ROM (which updates weekly), a better Camera and Flash and a Larger Battery.

Specifications/DeviceXiaomi Mi 3LG Nexus 5Samsung Galaxy S4 with LTE+
Processor
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (MSM 8274AB) (MSM8974AB) quad-core 2.3GHz (WCDMA model)
  • NVIDIA Tegra 4 quad-core 1.8GHz (TD model)
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974) quad-core 2.26GHz
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974) quad-core 2.3GHz
RAM
  • 2GB
  • 2GB
  • 2GB
Android Version
  • Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean
  • MIUI version 5
  • Android 4.4 KitKat
  • Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
  • Samsung TouchWiz
Display
  • 5-inch
  • 1,920 x 1,080 pixels
  • IPS
  • 5-inch
  • 1,920 x 1,080 pixels
  • IPS
  • 5-inch
  • 1,920 x 1,080 pixels
  • Super AMOLED
Camera
  • Rear: 13-megapixel autofocus with Sony Exmor sensor, F2.2 aperture, 28mm wide angle lens and dual-LED flash
  • Front: 2-megapixel
  • Rear: 8-megapixel autofocus with Sony IMX179 sensor, F2.4 aperture, optical image stabilization and LED flash
  • Front: 1.3-megapixel
  • Rear: 13-megapixel autofocus with Sony IMX091PQ sensor, F2.4 aperture and LED flash
  • Front: 2-megapixel
Storage
  • 16GB
  • 16/32GB
  • 16GB
  • micro-SD support up to 64GB
Dimensions
  • 144 x 73.6 x 8.1 mm
  • 137.84 x 69.17 x 8.59mm
  • 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9mm
Weight
  • 145g
  • 130g
  • 130g
Battery
  • 3,050mAh
  • 2,300mAh
  • 2,600mAh
Retail Price
  • US$327 (16GB)
  • US$408 (64GB)
  • US$349 (16GB)
  • US$399 (32GB)
  • US$669 (16GB)*

*Based on SGD to USD conversion rates at press time.


should samsung and apple be worried?

YES.

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Easy Moist vanilla cupcakes with frosting recipe



It's really super easy to make yummy vanilla cupcakes. Here's a very easy receipe to follow:

Vanilla Cupcakes with frosting recipe
Makes 16 cupcakes

Ingredients:

A. Dry ingredients:

1 and 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking power
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

B. Wet ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup yogurt
2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C.

2. Sift together all the dry ingredients (section A) and leave it one side.

3. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add in the eggs one at a time.

4. In a seperate bowl, Mix together the remaining wet ingredients (yogurt, milk and vanilla extract) and leave it one side.

5. Add in 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and then add in 1/2 of the wet ingredients. Repeat until all ingredients are combined. We are done when streaks of flour in the batter are not visible.

6. Line cupcake pans with cupcake liners and fill with 1/4 cup batter.

7. Bake for 15-18 minutes at 180°C or until golder brown. Let the cupcakes cool to room temperature.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting (optional)

Ingredients:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
Rainbow sprinkles (optional)
Food coloring (optional)

Method:
1. To make the frosting, mix together butter, vanilla extract and food colouring in a bowl.

2. In a separate bowl, sift the powdered sugar. Then add to the butter mixture slowly and mix until mixture is smooth. 

3. Pipe frosting into the COOLED cupcakes and sprinkle with rainbow sprinkles for added colour and crunch.

Maleficent - What it took Angelina Jolie to become Maleficent (makeup)


If you watched Maleficent, you would realise that Angelina Jolie has perfectly taken the character role from head to toe. 
Angelina Jolie transformed into a character who is both beautiful and terrible at the same time. 
But it definitely wasn’t easy. No detail, right down to the pointy teeth in the back of her mouth, was overlooked. 

Although the evil character is the antithesis of a Disney princess, with a simple google search, you can find so many tutorials on how to look like her. 

Here's my top 3 YouTube tutorials on how you can be Maleficent yourself (complete with costumes):


http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPc33sD0U98


http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z9P6fPXFht0

3. KittiesMama (this little girl is so adorable)

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vMYr7Zn8a2g

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Transformers Age Of Extinction: nothing After The Credits Scene

Thanks in large part to Marvel Studios, fans have come to expect a little something extra after the credits during major franchise movies. Often, fans will wait around during the credits of any superhero, horror, or sci-fi movie that is part of a franchise in hopes of getting a little tease for the next movie in the series.


However, if you wait around through the credits of Transformers: Age of Extinction in hopes of getting a stinger, then you will be disappointed. 

Transformers: Age of Extinction does not have a mid-credits or an after the credits scene.

TransformersTransformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon all had bonus scenes that occurred during the credits. So there has been a precedent set for credits scenes in the Transformers movies.

It’s unknown why director Michael Bay decided to break the pattern and offer no extra scenes during Transformers: Age of Extinction. It’s possible that Bay didn’t do a credits scene this time because he has claimed Transformers: Age of Extinction will be his last Transformers movie.

Maybe, Bay didn’t feel it would be fair to the next director to put anything into an after the credits tease that might force the direction of the next movie. Still, it’s surprising that Bay didn’t at least include some type of humorous ending scene unrelated to future movies in the end credits to give audiences a little something extra.

why was there x-men clip shown at the end of amazing spider man 2 movie?

If you are guessing why there was a trailer/clip of x-men after the amazing spider man movie 2, I have the answer for you!


If you don't understand what I just said, here's a short summary:

On May 2 2014, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ran in theaters and at the end, after all the credits, there was a clip for X-Men: Days of Future Past. We saw a brief scene for “X-Men: Days of Future Past” featuring Jennifer Lawrence’s character Mystique. 

While post-credit scenes are normally expected by comic super hero movies, this end credits clip is noteworthy because Spider-Man is distributed by Sony and X-Men is by Fox. Traditionally, disparate comic book movie universes don't overlap.

Here's a clip of the end credits that was played.



Well here's the answer we all were looking for:

Years ago, Marc Webb signed a contract to make two movies for Fox. The first was "500 (Days) of Summer" in 2009 and "The Amazing Spider-Man” in 2012. Webb’s negotiations briefly stalled with Sony as he was caught in a tug-of-war with Fox. Eventually, Fox agreed to allow Webb to direct Sony’s “Spider-Man” sequel, but only if Sony would promote its “X-Men” film for free.”

Though this reasoning might disappoint viewers hoping for a Spidy-X-Men movie crossover, it will delight those who enjoy when businessmen make quirky compromises. 

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