New Beats Headphones Out in Stores

When you think about headphones, what is the first brand that strikes you? Previously I was asking around on which brand of headphones I should consider as I was contemplating on getting one and I was recommended to try Beats by Dr. Dre.

Cool and stylish, it is hard to miss if you see someone wearing it making it both a practical set of headphones as well as a fashion accessory.

If you are considering a set of bright, striking headphones, check out the Beats EP. It delivers masterfully tuned sound. Its battery-free design offers unlimited playback and its sleek, durable frame is reinforced with lightweight stainless steel. Beats EP is an ideal introduction to Beats for any music lover seeking a dynamic listening experience. 

The Beats EP is currently available in Black, Red, Blue and White at all authorized Beats retailers in Singapore at S$138. 

I think that the Beats EP is kind of a basic model for Beats if you don't really have lots of expectations when it comes to the sound etc. Even then, it is really sufficient for generic daily use if you just want to listen to music on the move with convenience. 

Find wires a hassle? There is a model which is wireless! With up to 40 hours of battery life, Beats Solo Wireless is your perfect everyday headphone. With Fast Fuel, a 5-minute charge gives you 3 hours of playback. Enjoy award-winning Beats sound with Class 1 Bluetooth wireless listening freedom. The on-ear, cushioned ear cups are adjustable so you can customize your fit for all-day comfort. 

The Beats Solo Wireless is available in Gloss Black, Gloss White, Silver, Gold, Rose Gold and Black, retailing at S$398.

Personally, I have never owned a set of wireless headphones and this model seems particularly attractive with this feature. You can imagine all the ease it provides when you decide to do sports and stay plugged in with music playing. 

Check out their professional sets and speakers:

Calling All Tiger Prawn Lovers!

If you love prawns like some friends I know of (HP for one), then Cha Thai is the best Thai cuisine place in the CBD area you can go to to satisfy your cravings!

Many of their dishes include Tiger Prawns in it so below are a list of them for you to try:

Crispy Prawn Cake ($15)

This was one of our starters and it takes only one bite for you to identify the ingredient in it, that's right, it's none other than tiger prawn meat within it. Flavourful and crisp, it certainly makes a good appetiser and as good appetisers, one piece is never enough. After all, you get to enjoy the prawn meat without peeling off the shells, something we all prefer due to the convenience it offers.

Lemongrass Prawn Salad ($28)

Just one look at this dish and you can see how huge the prawns are. How can you not be happy looking at the size of the prawns? I don't really understand why they call this a salad, perhaps because of the additional toppings to the prawns that give it a spicy and sour taste but the main ingredient is none other than the prawns themselves. Note that this dish is a bit more spicy so for those who can't take spicy, you might want to order another dish.

Signature Tiger Prawn 'Panang' Curry ($28)

Huge prawns again. Only difference being the curry that gives it a milky, creamy flavour and it is not spicy so for those who can't do spicy, this is recommended. Something special to note, there was also lychee within the dish. Definitely something different compared to other Thai cuisine dishes, worth the try in my opinion. 

Pad Thai ($22)

Pad Thai with a huge prawn sitting on top of the dish staring at you. Decide fast because there are only two prawns available in this dish. The pad thai comes with peanut and and bean sprouts neatly arranged lest you decide to leave them out but it is recommended that you mix everything well to enjoy the flavours of this dish.

Tiger Prawns Claypot Glass Noodles ($55 for 4 pax)

This is one big claypot of glass noodles. At a glance it may seem daunting but once you taste the glass noodles, you can't get enough of it and don't worry, you don't have to finish it all since it is meant to be shared. These dishes come in sharing portions so everyone gets to try the dish. The glass noodles are really good and fragrant, something you would want to taste even if you might not be able to finish it. 

All the tiger prawns in the dishes are generally quite big, about 30cm or so, so when you examine the prices don't be taken aback. Every cent is well spent with the quality of food being offered. The Thai cuisine here at Cha Thai is no street food but rather, high end quality ingredients are used. For example, meat is sous vide before cooking to ensure that it is tender, while gravy, sauces, drinks are all being prepared from scratch.

Unfortunately prawns are not incorporated into the desserts but you definitely don't want to miss these!

Desserts

There are a range of desserts for you to choose from in order of top left to right bottom: Sweet Corn Herbal Jelly, Summer Potato (sweet potato), Red Ruby, Emerald Jade (green ruby) and Tropical Paradise (mango sticky rice with ice cream). Besides Tropical Paradise costing $12, all other desserts cost $8. 

Cha Thai

80 Telok Ayer street

#01-01 Singapore 048466

Operating hours: 11am to 10pm daily

Who Lives in a Pineapple under the Sea?

Spongebob Square Pants!

On a nice Saturday afternoon at Siloso Beach Walk, Sentosa, the place was packed with people dressed in yellow. No guesses why because it was the Spongebob Square Pants Run!

Despite the launch of Pokemon GO, people were out ready to run and having lots of fun.

It was the first ever SpongeBob Run in Asia and participants journeyed through the iconic landmarks from the underwater city of Bikini Bottom. Think about it, when do you ever get to run along the beaches of Sentosa?

There was a carnival with lots of interesting nautical-themed activities, food and beverages, the perfect place for SpongeBob fans! People were queueing up to take photographs with their favourite Spongebob Square Pants cartoon characters.

It looks like an afternoon well spent at Sentosa for the runners as they were flagged off for their various runs and came back looking all cheery.

There are more and more fun runs like these being organised and it is definitely something to look out for, after all what beats spending an afternoon with friends or family at the beach enjoying some healthy fun and basking in the sun. 

While I was personally not running because I didn't like the idea of getting sand in my shoes and all the hassle of having to clean up after, I am sure that the participants enjoyed their fun run.

Looking for your 命中注定 or 下一站幸福 ？

If the above names interest you, you would be keen to know that there's a cafe selling beverages with these names. Gives off a Taiwanese vibe huh? There's more, with your favourite K drama names to choose from. 绿光森林，原来是美男，太阳的后裔，来自星星的你 are among the list of beverages available at TaiPei Seoul Cafe.

I thought it was a pretty interesting concept because you don't really know what you will get, not until after you order. With beverages, the taste can hardly go wrong, it is just how much the bartender can impress you, to concoct a drink that resembles the name in terms of its look and taste. We were told that the bartender even takes special orders, so feel free to make a visit and order your 可爱小妹妹 or 猛男帅哥, whatever tickles your fancy.

While there are beverages that are more milky or creamy, I personally prefer the soda flavoured drinks, so here are some to share with you:

绿光森林

This drink is made with a fizzy soda as base and it has a light peppermint flavour to it which gives a refreshing after taste.

来自星星的你 

One of the beverages which looks really glimmery and sparkly with edible stars within it.

太阳的后裔

The grapefruit gives the drink its flavour with a sweet-sour taste to it.

There are also the usual Taiwanese bites such as the Fried Salted Chicken and Sweet Potato Fries which make great sharing dishes.

Did you know that the Taiwanese rendition of western food is pretty good too? It reminded me of this Western food that I used to have back in my exchange days at Taipei.

Golden Chicken Thigh

The chicken was succulent and went really well with the spaghetti. I mean which guy will resist such good and tasty chicken meat? Load up on the protein!

Honey Chicken Chop

Even a simple dish like chicken chop with rice tasted good. I won't say it is to rave about but it is by all standards a decent dish of chicken chop.

Does cheese appeal to you? Then this Pork Cutlet dish is prepared with you in mind.

Ham & Cheese Pork Cutlet

What is a cafe without Insta-worthy desserts? For the sweet-tooths, there are Mix Berries Yogurt Pie, Tiramichoux and Chocolate Lava Cake with Ice Cream.

Check out this macaron with ice cream inside! Just take a bite out of this and you will be like yum, not overly sweet and the ice cream in it makes it feel shiok. Decadence never tasted so good.

Blue Pea Macaroon with Raspberry Jam

If you are more of a savoury dessert lover, you will enjoy the Lemon Tart. I personally enjoyed this tart the most as a guy, so here's my pick guys. They also offer Pumpkin Tart which is kind of interesting, since you don't usually have this ingredient made into a pastry, so if you want to try something new, this is it! Other than that, there is also Matcha Tart for the fans of green tea.

Matcha Tart

While there are restaurants that offer Taiwanese cuisine, cafes offering both Taiwanese and Korean cuisine are few. The speciality of this cafe is their Western food, beverages and desserts, so make a pit stop here if you are cafe-hopping!

Exclusive discount for my readers: Get 15% off when you quote my name "Samuel Low" or flash my blogpost upon payment with no minimum spend! Offer valid until 20th Sep. Besides that, enjoy a free dessert of the day when you like their Facebook page here or follow their Instagram account here. 

TaiPei Seoul Cafe
10 Jalan Leban
Singapore S577551

Go Korean This National Day with Seoul Jjimdak

So you have heard of discounts like GSS but have you heard of discounts celebrating National Day?

Seoul Jjimdak, a Korean restaurant located at City Square mall, is having a 51% discount off their Army Stew and and their Jjimdak during lunch time until the end of August!

Check out the huge sharing portions below. We strongly recommend having at least 3 people share the dishes because good food is worth sharing and yes, you can share other dishes too.

Jjimdak, braised chicken with potato, carrots and glass noodles

Before this, I had no idea that such a Korean dish existed. Braised chicken, yumz. Whatever that's cooked with potatoes just taste really good and that can be said for the chicken meat that's soaking up all the gravvy goodness.

Army Stew

Compared to other Army Stews served, this one is less spicy and is more flavourful. For a non-spicy eater like me, it was light on the taste buds and I got to enjoy the taste of the different ingredients that went into the stew. 

If you would like to make your Army Stew more tasty, there is the option to top up the stew with cheese and ramen. I mean who eats this stew without ramen? It's a must!

Army Stew

Judging from the portions I am sure you will be eating your fill, only for $16.60 for each dish after the discount. If not, check out the sides coming right up.

Seafood Pancake

The best dishes don't necessarily look good in photographs. The Seafood Pancake here was so good that I kept going back for more slices! It was thin and crisp which made it somewhat addictive. I highly recommend it as a side, don't order it as another side to keep you full but rather because it's so tasty that you have to try it.

Spicy Cheese Tteokbokki

If you are having Korean you can't miss out Tteokbokki! Contrary to your expectations, it isn't as spicy as you might think and it is more flavourful rather than spicy hot. This dish is also loaded with cheese so if you enjoy cheese, you have another reason to add this dish to the cart. 

With that said, Korean food is best enjoyed when it's shared so buy sharing portions and we promise you a hearty meal here at Seoul Jjimdak where you are served with authentic Korean food. Enjoy!

More food!

Paint the Town Red with Emirates Red Fashion

If you were at Capitol Piazza last weekend you would have noticed the Emirates Singapore Derby Roadshow happening.

The Emirates Singapore Derby Roadshow is now at CHIJMES, The Lawn from 11am to 8pm and 12pm to 10pm respectively. 

What to expect?

Horse Pitching Competition. If you went to the roadshow last year, this was a must have activity and it happened at Ion. The host of this activity is so engaging and friendly that you will be inclined to have a go.

Horse patting and feeding. The thing that everyone wants to do most. Feeding the horse? Not so much. More like taking a photo with her.  

There are also other activities such as the Fashion Show by Reckless Shop and Fashion House, Singapore Turf Club Mascots, Racer and Clover walking around and you can have a look at the history of Emirates Singapore Derby Exhibition or check out the InstaPhoto Booth.

In conjunction with the Emirates Singapore Derby, they are also running an Instagram contest starting from 20 June 2016 to 8 July 2016, 2359PM. All you have to do is to upload your best RED outfit of the day (RED OOTD) onto your Instagram and hashtag #EmiratesRedFashion & Tag @SGTurfClub and you will stand a chance to win a set of premium gift worth about S$2,000 from Emirates. I hear that there's a Chopard watch in that gift set, so what are you waiting for?

Celebrating The Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Singapore Turf Club

On a fine Sunday afternoon we were off to the Singapore Turf Club and this time for...The Queen Elizabeth II Cup. 

Feast your eyes on the Queen Elizabeth II Cup! Credit: Singapore Turf Club

What's this Queen Elizabeth II Cup about? It is a race in order to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s first visit to the picturesque Singapore Racecourse in 1972. With this theme in mind, the Singapore Racecourse was spruced up with a British flair as you get to see ladies dressed in unique hats. Why not try out a hat yourself? There was a “Best Hats on Tracks” contest to complement the fashion theme as in past years. 

Besides that, there was an elegant fashion showcase by “Shopping at Tiffany’s” where models parade the latest seasonal collection. Definitely something to look out for for the fashionistas.

While this race was named in the Queen's honour, unfortunately she was too busy to grace the event but it was still a really eye-opening experience watching jockeys race around the field. The thrill and excitement is something to be experienced! 

Dining in comfort in the Marquee, we got to see the horses race around the track. They were so much closer this time round, close enough for me to get some good shots of them in action. 

And...they are off!

A photo with my colleague, Yi Hong.

We managed to get up close with the horses where they were guided a few laps around the ring so that we could judge their energy level for ourselves and decide whether they were in a winning-state. 

Up close with the jockeys

The finalists of the Miss Singapore International 2016 pageant were also at the racecourse enjoying the races with package holders. 

The Pageant Queens. Credit: Singapore Turf Club

It was a time of chilling out, having fun and watching races here at the Singapore Turf Club. If you are interested to find out more about the activities happening at the Singapore Turf Club click here.

Learn From the Best, Learn From TheSmartLocal

From what I remember of The Smart Local when it started out, there was a lot of content being produced by different contributors who write for the purpose of expressing themselves. There was a system which generated points for them and it was a platform for them to showcase their content whatever it may be. In that sense contributors were rewarded for engaging readers and it gave them motivation to write. The perks of hosting all these contributors is pretty clear, The Smart Local became a site more youngsters would visit, with lots of content being generated and pretty much for free. 

However, this system could have been somewhat messy and from then till now things have changed. No speculation on why but if you are an active reader of their site, you would have realised that at present they have a very clean site layout. 

What I think? This change might be a way to control the content that is being produced. After all, advertisers and clients like a site that has a clean and professional look.  That brings me to my next point. Online content nowadays aren't produced just for fun or expression. It takes time to write and as much as it might just be a hobby, few will turn down the opportunity to write and be paid for it. Be realistic. Make the best of every opportunity and that's exactly what The Smart Local did, monetise their site after gaining readers.

That said, their content is still relevant to the young and us, Singaporeans. Food, travel, things to do, it's stuff that we want to know about. Look at this article for example.

Would you ever see such content being produced elsewhere? Probably not the most interesting content since it has nothing to do with food, Singaporeans' favourite but hey, it is definitely all about us. Ok, I have to admit that seeing an image with words from 5 languages in 1 sentence sparked off some of my linguistic knowledge. It is organic content that's for sure and there's even a video included. In my opinion, that's the new direction that The Smart Local is taking if you haven't guessed it by now. Videos. Jump on the band wagon if you want to attract a larger following, videos are the new thing. Go post videos on your blog, Youtube, Instagram, Snapchat and you might just be the next up and rising star.

Launch of Gryphon Tea New Artisan Treasures

With an assortment of 10 different tea variants in Gryphon Tea New Artisan Treasures, you can now quench your palette and indulge in your favourite teas. Each box is retailed at $18.50 (excluding GST), available exclusively on Gryphon Tea Company website. A box of Gryphon Treasures impresses with its 20 delicate silken sachets (two sachets for each variant) from the best-selling Artisan Selection.

Perfect for individuals who are keen to explore a variety of tea flavours or crave a different brew
each day, Gryphon Treasures is definitely the “Treasure” one is searching for. Each box consists of
10 diverse flavours, two variants for each tea type: black, green, white, oolong and rooibos teas.
Enjoy a selection of tea blends ranging from Straits Chai, Contessa Grey, Marrakesh Mint,
Osmanthus Sencha, White Gingerlily, Nymph of the Nile, Lily of the Field, Templetree Lotus,
Mogambo and Tomatino.

Giveaway Opportunity!

From 8 April to 10 April, stand a chance to be the lucky one to walk away with a box of Gryphon Tea New Artisan Treasures. With 20 boxes up for grabs, simply comment your guess on the 3 new variants that is in the Gryphon New Artisan Treasures on Gryphon Tea Company Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/Gryphonteacompany).

Gryphon Tea New Artisan Treasures can be purchased here 

Movie Review of 《特工爷爷》, The Bodyguard

So I saw this poster recently and without watching the trailer, I thought why not? Looks like a decent action flick with actors of a certain standing, after all the cast does include Hong Jin Bao, Andy Lau and Eddie Peng among others.

I could never have been more wrong. This poster just lied to you in so many ways. You would assume that there would be special agents with high tech gadgets and they would be sent on missions but no, none of that is happening in this movie.

Here is the trailer:

My verdict: It is an action flick, yes but it is the IP man kind of action scenes. Meaning, fast and furious blows that crack bones and gory scenes where blood is splattered all over. What was really disappointing was that the spotlight was on the lead (Hong Jin Bao) who is kinda boring given that he is an old man with nothing to do and the plot is like so straightforward that it is a no brainer. 

This should have been the official poster

He had a history where he lost his granddaughter and in a turn of events, he made a special connection with a neighbour's daughter and fought his way through tons of bad guys to save her. End of story. Hold on, he didn't actually save her at the end because she didn't exactly needed saving and the bad guy was like killed a few steps ahead of him. I mean what is the point? There are sweet scenes after all this entire movie centred around a special, touching relationship but on the whole the story moved at a slow pace with the exception of the fight scenes which perhaps could have been faster to spare us the goriness.

If you were to watch the movie based on your impression of the poster, be prepared for a let down because the action scenes only involve the lead, not like Hong Jin Bao can be compared with Donnie Yen. No handsome or pretty characters to entertain you. Just power-packed kungfu moves. As for the actors you have been waiting to watch, do note that Andy Lau's role is a small one and Eddie Peng all but makes a guest appearance at the end of the show. All in all, pretty disappointing, at least for me.