ladri di biciclette

2009-06-21T23:30:00.001+08:00

Thanks for two years of Monochrome.
this is a new chapter
welcome to the world of full colour fidelity

http://shootmyblackhat.com/

the power of mustafa.

2009-04-24T01:48:00.003+08:00

my first pair of court shoes
only $29 from mustafa
i will be using them tomorrow
officially my most value for money pair of shoes
can't wait to play tomorrow!
i can really feel us getting better each time we play
we can really sustain a rally now!
ok i'm looking forward to it!

2009-04-11T03:30:00.000+08:00

when light spills over the darkness

2009-04-08T00:45:00.002+08:00

this is going to be my first post in a really long time
i've finally reached the end of term and its exams studying period again
i just really wanted to post something to get things started

i know my blog has been dead for like forever
and one of my resolutions for summer was to start blogging again

it all started when i discovered twitter recently

as something that i would try out for fun
but jy and i both agree that i should blog more because
i really do have stuff to share
its just that this term i may not have had all the time in the world
to share it here
anyway, here's to a summer of prolific blogging.

8ight.

2009-01-26T23:22:00.003+08:00

hello dear, its our eighth
on the first day of chinese new year
i just want to make use of this auspiciousness
to wish us all the best
and many many more new years to come.

my wish list.

2009-01-20T23:50:00.002+08:00

2008-12-27T11:05:00.001+08:00

2008-12-14T12:01:00.002+08:00

mount kinabalu.

2008-12-05T03:10:00.002+08:00

went to visit haji lane with the beautiful
had our little pre trekking ritual
and i bought my boots

pictures here

2008-12-01T02:10:00.002+08:00

a very tyco shot of the gf
the bus was passing her just at the right time
to produce this cool moment
of her staring at shooting stars.

first day of post exam.

2008-12-01T01:51:00.007+08:00

spent a long quiet day at home
ok not really quiet
i got to do plenty of the things i've neglected
like finally fix up the clothing stands for mom
fix the new hook brackets on the room windows
so the windows dont have to open the whole way
and after that mom brought me out for dinner
ate at this jap buffet place
quite cheap 15 bucks only

but the food a bit crappy
the photos do it too much justice

but who cares
we went to central to walk a bit
we stopped to see this new candy shop
its got rolled candy where you can see cool shapes from the side

the owner apparently brought in the franchise
from australia just recently
he claims they're the only handmade candy shop in singapore
dunno if thats true though

funny enough
he asked me if i was a blogger
cuz i kept taking shots of the place
so he sorta asked if i could blog bout his place
so here u go mr candyman
the wonders of free advertising and testimonials
i tried the goods
they're quite unique
and you should check out the way they make em
its like those kind of novelty handmade concepts
where u have to see the process then u'll think its cool

then we went to see this cool jap shop
that sells all the jap candies and snacks
and household stuff
so that was cool
i saw like grape flavoured kit-kat

then i went to meet the best friend to pick up wheels
they're gonna go onto the gf's bike
gonna set them up tom before ft probably
its ft dine in tom
and im contemplating bringing my camera
anyway
all that matters is attendance
its going to be at charcoal, the shatec reataurant
simple enough
last thing for this sem

2008-11-26T02:42:00.001+08:00

2008-11-23T00:16:00.005+08:00

dad just came back from israel
im super jealous
cuz they invited me and i said i didnt wanna go
cuz need to prepare for exams
but looking at his photos
(of course i did a bit of editing)
i really could've come back with like a thousand pictures
but of course if i did
i'd spend the next few days sorting
and probably flunk my exams
and plus
i wouldn't get to spend time with my rabbit
i really need to get down to studying
it seems that during exams
my blog activity will increase
probably cuz its the easiest thing i can access
to change something in this world
to say my piece
to scream from the studying
i really cant wait for this to be over
but
i do wanna maximize the time i have left

2008-11-17T08:43:00.002+08:00

its really been too long since i had my last post
and i guess my blog seems to be stagnating just a little bit

but oh well
its come to the end of a term again
and exam time
its always during exams that
i always get so reminiscent of the term that passed

this term was
significant
it represented a step which i have taken
which was not in my past nature to
i guess in a sense
its a commitment not just to the organisation
but also to myself
to do the best i can
in all areas
to not think about slacking
to work hard in the areas i choose to go into
to have purpose and direction

i am just grateful to everyone for being
so wonderful this term
i really hope that we could build on success
and go on to become
that which we have envisioned to ourselves

and to you
my sweetest
without you i dont think
that i could've found the courage
to take steps
to grow in ways i've never considered
i can say that you've really come in
and changed my life
for the better
thank you so much for
supporting me endlessly
for always reaching out to me
brown
polar
grizzly
black
panda
koala
teddy
love.

2008-10-28T01:20:00.000+08:00

hello dear
happy 5.
=)

2008-09-26T02:01:00.002+08:00

bounce bounce*
right now my baby is sick
and sleeping
so this is for you,
when you wake up tomorrow morning.
get well soon my dear.
happy fourth!

2008-09-22T13:32:00.002+08:00

if there was a single thing
that i took away from last night
it would be precisely this
the comments and sharing we had
all pointed back to this one big intangible
the family spirit.
something which we should never forget
no matter how far we wanna take this
i just really hope that one year from now
we can all look back and say yes
ive contributed to the family
i've kept the family together
yes we're bound to have our ups and downs
but family is about the long run
that in the end
far away
whether we would still care for each other.
as friends
as brothers and sisters.
yes yes, cheesy i know..
there are so many issues
i just wish we could all be patient with the process
and grow from there.

thnks for the mmrs.

2008-09-14T23:26:00.002+08:00

its been a long while since summer
and we've finally come to the end of our
biggest show of the year for the biking team
the pressure to deliver has been immense
and everyone has been looking at this event
and working really hard to make it work
that is not to say that we didnt have our fair share
of screw ups
of disagreements
of tension
of nail biting
but ultimately i really hope we can walk away from this
knowing that on our end
no matter how screwed it sometimes looked
but in the end, how was it like from a participant's pov
i just really hope that they enjoyed themselves
i'm just really glad that most of them were really really sporting
so yeah
just glad that i had this experience with everyone.

mess.

2008-09-10T03:31:00.002+08:00

the effects of nightbike preparations going on in my room
my whole floor is full of plastic wrappers
that were from gl recce
nightbike is this weekend
i really hope we all pull through
and give it our all
its been a long accumulation process
i dont wanna get it over and done with
i want it to be done with patience and to savour every moment
and give it my all for the whole of 24 hours.

tommorrow there will be light.

2008-09-05T01:33:00.005+08:00

bursting rays of light
tomorrow i will be picking up my flash
i really hope to improve with a better flash
than the built in one
i realised that even with decent lighting
its quite hard to take shots with high shutter speed
without sufficient light
so i got someone to sell me
a second hand 420ex
so i can play around with flash functions for a while
before i sell it off for better stuff
can't wait.
this coming week is going to be quite busy
im having a much better year than last
i feel generally more prepared
and slightly more hardworking
no small part because of my wonderful classmates
who are my inspiration
and really kick me when i feel lazy
thanks, you.

speed issues.

2008-09-03T08:06:00.004+08:00

i miss riding
its really been a while since i took the bike out
or went for a ride
actually, more specifically,
its been a long time since i took the roadie out
plus i need to get a speedo for my bike
after my last one had some cable issues
i was wondering if i should get cadence back again
or if i should even get one at all
i felt the speedometer while useful
was a limiting factor
psychologically,
we're used to traveling at different speeds
so when we cross our own personal boundary
we find it weird and self control starts to set in
but if you just go all out
there's nothing to worry about
you just worry bout holding the person's wheel
keeping tight
and just exploding when the time is right
which is the essence of riding
so should i just screw the speedometer?
the new white strada cateye is very tempting
plus they have a new 2.4ghz wireless model
wonder how much that will cost
im guessing around 200 bucks
oh well, maybe the strada will do
no more ugly wires around the frame.

for the most beautiful girl in the world.

2008-08-26T02:20:00.000+08:00

happy 3rd month my dearest.

just want you to know
that although we have our ups
and downs
and that sometimes I exasperate you to no end
but I just thought you’d like to know
that I’ve fallen in deep with you
head over heels
rolling over in the flowers
diving head first
leaping with your eyes closed
taking the step off
right on the edge
(well you get the idea.)

so here’s to many more of these.
and lets do lunch tomorrow.
love.

uvibe ivibe everybodyvibe.

2008-08-25T01:00:00.003+08:00

oh joy,

smu challenge is offering the
u-vibe
(ie. ur very own vibrator)
the fucking sex toy invented by osim
just read their ad
i dont think its just me
curved handle
multiple speed
"high speed vibration gives that extra oomph"
flexible rubber head
the girl innocently prancing around in her undergarments
its full to the brim with innuendo

for a low low price
every single promiscuous
sex crazed smu student
can find some sort of relief
because school doesnt afford you the time or the energy
or the libido.

triple t madness redux.

2008-08-24T15:01:00.007+08:00

here are the results for the team time trial
(we're ridefromtheheart btw)
(click to enlarge)
held at changi coastal road today
we decided to have some fun on the weekend and join a race
i realised its damn gay to post a fifth place
haha but who cares, it was fun.

divine footwear.

2008-08-20T02:30:00.001+08:00

if angels rodes bikes,
they'd be wearing these.

2008-08-14T21:56:00.003+08:00

my potential new shoe
and the features i like about it
i went down to swiss valley to try it out today
it feels comfortable
but with a little pressure around the sides
but taking into account that the material will stretch it should be ok

2008-08-11T02:25:00.002+08:00

finally back
after an extremely long hiatus
off the blog
i must say that it has become a sort of chore
to spend time blogging
the last few weeks have been insane
with the thailand ride and all
i just havent had time for much else
and now im back here
with nightbike
and a whole lot of new activities to look forward to in the new term
lets not forget the books and the studying
that will come with everything as well
i shall post stuff about my trip soon
but im extremely busy now
still sorting photos
and getting ready for a photo exhibition for the 21st
what a busy period
im blogging to destress

2008-08-11T02:22:00.001+08:00

the new nightbike shirt design
this is actually one of the few times im experimenting
with splatter patterns
but i quite like the turnout

2008-07-17T01:25:00.002+08:00

had an amazing day out with you today
although it was something pretty weird
it was still cool and really fun
im just glad to get to take you out
and spend quality time together
this was a shot taken from the new camera
its my baby..
with her companion.
(its a device btw.)

smux camp logo.

2008-07-14T10:35:00.002+08:00

my work for logos for SMUX Camp
on top was the one rejected by mr woody
and below is the new
and revised
and totally revamped
and toned down
censored
cut off
trimmed
euphemised
redone
remade
rehashed
and complete
new logo for SMUX Camp 08.

Operation: SMUXeLand , SMUX Camp 08

2008-07-14T10:11:00.004+08:00

havent had much time to blog lately
been caught up with ever so many things
it looks like it will be a busy week before i leave
i just really hope we can fill up the spaces for smux camp
its been quite a bummer year for everyone
ah well
i shall stop blaming external factors
i honestly think we couldve done a million and one things better
oh well
two days to get this up and running
lets do this.

2008-07-14T09:54:00.002+08:00

thin crust pizzas
prego brunch buffet
raffles city

went for prego's brunch buffet with mom yest
the spread and the food was very very decent as usual
you have your HUGE line of antipastis
and your carving station, pasta station
pizzas, soup station, dessert spread
and free flow of juice thats squeezed in front of u
all for fifty one bucks per pax
i always hit the beef carpaccios
and add my own extra arugula
from the caesar section
which has the whole bunch of fresh veggies
from your buttercup to your romaine lettuce
everything is cool and crunchy
so its damn good to eat
i always tend to overeat whenever i find myself there
i didnt eat dinner afterwards
but its strange how prego on sundays
turns into some family outing restaurant
so you have all sorts of kids running around
well after all children between 2 - 12 pay only 18 bucks
and they have a super cute section with play area and cushions
with a tv and lots of gourmet finger food
sometimes im tempted to take food from there
i havent had the chance to sit down at lunch for really long
so it was very very pleasant.

and so it begins..

2008-07-06T00:22:00.004+08:00

today was just supposed to be the collection of tables and chairs
but it turns out we had to start preparing
for the matric booth much much earlier
so today we managed to finish up most of the main foundation decor work
now its on to the details and the rest of the setup process
its going to be exciting
been working hard on this small lil project
i hope it all comes together nicely
this year seems much bigger than the previous year
every club and society is really pulling out all the stops to make this event look good
very aptly
another race is also starting
the 95th tour de france
so in our own little way
we're climbing up our own little alp' de huez's
and decending our own mount ventoux's
but it'll be one hell of a ride.

viva le tour.

2008-06-30T16:42:00.001+08:00

the ultimate bike.

2008-06-28T23:42:00.001+08:00

my new bike
i feel like getting one of these babies
flying pigeon bicycle
from the people's republic of china
the ultimate market bike
to end the reign of all market bikes
the best part about this bike
single speed
no cables
steel
ridden by chinamen everywhere
need i say more?

2008-06-28T23:27:00.003+08:00

teochew mutton soup
new world mutton soup
berseh food centre
jalan besar

the fragrant soup full of herbs
just masked the smell of mutton
it has a very nice herbal taste
which goes well with the yam rice
they give plenty of the soup
which is the most important part of this dish
its perfect if u dont want to eat something too heavy.

2008-06-28T23:24:00.003+08:00

mango with milk shaved ice & ice cream
ice monster
180 Bencoolen Street

officially the best shaved ice mango ive eaten
there isnt too much ice
the mango is pre chilled
there's enough milk to make it creamy
and the ice cream is not too sweet
havent had it for about a year though
but still just as good
i wanna go back and try their durian with mango.

2008-06-28T22:49:00.003+08:00

just got back from desaru
it was an insanely hot day
i carried my water bag today
so that made for five litres of water that i was carrying on me
not really used to carrying load on my road bike
that really put plenty of strain on my back
the heat today was a bit crazy
i was really feeling the burn today
i came back today feeling dehydrated
gonna throw back like a gallon of water tonight
i need to rehydrate
tomorrow is another long day in the saddle
with filming going on i need to have a clear mind
oh well
i better get some work done and go to sleep
dont know if i can make it for training tom
really tired.

category: before & after

2008-06-28T21:12:00.002+08:00

after moving and fixing for about a week
the house is almost just about but not really done
at least the living room is all sorted out
but we still have no tv
because incredibly
scv doesnt run cable here
we have to pay to get them to install
genius right
but thats ok
i dont watch much tv anyway
the room you see in the photo is the living room
i dont know how we did it
but finally everything is in its proper place in the cupboards
moving is nostalgic
it lets you dig up old stuff that you havent seen in years
and you wondered why you never threw some stuff away
and you wonder why you didnt take better care of other stuff
oh well
glad its almost just about but not really over.

happy anniversary my dear.

2008-06-26T00:06:00.002+08:00

its been a month
and i'm happier than i've been in a long time
we've had our ups and downs
and our fair share of misunderstandings
but its been wonderful all the time
and i really hope
that i am what you want
because you are to me.
so here's to us,
(i'm purposely not finishing this sentence)

another bike shirt.

2008-06-24T01:40:00.002+08:00

another biking tshirt
this was the design we talked about tonight at meeting
it didnt really occur to me then
but when i finished
i thought it looked like one of those
"singapore is a fine city"
tshirts.
which cynthia happily pointed out to me also.
oh well, time to be more decisive lah
we have like tons of options
at least we're steadily accumulating
i suppose we might shortlist some of the better ones ourselves first
then we open to the floor for more comments and ideas?
not sure whats gonna happen
so im just gonna keep contributing to the ever
growing pool.

2008-06-23T02:14:00.005+08:00

our first photo together
for u. till we meet again.

smux camp teaser.

2008-06-23T01:34:00.003+08:00

edited version
you can play
"spot the difference"

09 tcr advanced sl

2008-06-23T00:10:00.002+08:00

giant's 09 tcr advanced sl
the ones we've been seeing highroad race
is finally available to us mortals
it features a square downtube
much like cervelo's R3
i really think giant have outdone themselves this time
they've taken some very nice features from some
purebred racing machines
such as the downtube, the press cup bottom bracket
and the tapered integrated headtube
flared top tube
to make this one hell of a stiff ride
this model seems to have the new mechanical dura-ace
fitted on
the new crankset looks super fierce on this steed
im looking forward to check out and
grope the new shifters
they look freakin awesome

2008-06-20T01:56:00.004+08:00

you've only been gone for three plus hours
and i already feel like
im short of something
like there's something not done
like i haven't said goodnight
like i haven't talked about my day
like im just going to bed without words
plus just after you scared me to death today
when you told me what happened
with that
i realise that the next few days
arent going to be easy
and that it must've been crazy for you to wait for me
when i went to thailand
and now i can't imagine going away for two weeks
can i bring you along?
just like how im wishin i could fit in ur suitcase
but i really hope you have fun
you finally have that holiday you wanted!
have a blast
i'll be right here.
with much forced patience.

living in a red light district.

2008-06-19T01:14:00.002+08:00

finally moved into my new place
first night spent in the new house
i must admit i cant believe im here
after that long and tedious process of moving everything
but its all still not over
oh, useless trivia time
this place used to be a red light
in fact, there're still plenty of lupsup places here
and desker road is down the street
oh well,
should be fun
and i can take plenty of pictures around here.

2008-06-19T00:09:00.002+08:00

teochew muay
near balestier/lavender

this was one of the many food places
around my new house
you really wont be afraid
to not be able to find food around here
i've already found two 24hr establishments
and this was some of the best porridge dishes i've eaten
maybe it was cuz i was hungry from a day at the house
i loved the sauce they gave with it
it wasnt salty and it tasted like chicken essence
mom was convinced some special ingredient was involved
anyway, the quality was consistent and high
nice haybeehiam also.

moving & shifting & transiting.

2008-06-17T21:59:00.004+08:00

my new street.
its going to be a new life
a new start here
more nooks and crannies to explore
more good food to sample
finally
im out of the ulu part of singapore
and into a more central place
so i dont have to ride so freakin far
just to meet up with people
i move tomorrow.
who knows whats nice to eat in the Jln Besar area?

2008-06-16T08:53:00.003+08:00

the moon reflected off the water at lower pierce
an incredible view
with the horizon glowing red
at 3 in the morning
once again our supposed haunted places recce
dug up more
"top-10-make-out-spots"
but im glad the route is finally settled on
im just gonna be incredibly busy this week
i move to my new place on wed
im going to be living in serangoon
10mins away from school
im going to love my new house
anyway
moving plus all my other stuff is gonna be one hell of a ride

2008-06-10T14:29:00.002+08:00

my work for the biking team t shirt
it was really easy to do
each person has a bike in a matching colour
i was thinking if i could do a connect the dots thing
oh well
start with this basic one first lah

truly an amazing malaysia & thailand.

2008-06-06T12:41:00.006+08:00

ben is back from his recce trip
it was an endless road trip
after 7 days of nodding off in the car
we're finally home
i'm too tired and lazy to blog so much about it
the panorama was taken in krabi
on this really amazing looking beach
which during low tide
you can walk to the islands
if its too small to see here click on it
i uploaded in quite a huge resolution
trip pictures here, here & here.

ride from the hut.

2008-06-01T22:44:00.002+08:00

this marks the end of another
successful roadshow by the
ride from the hut (beach hut)
people.
i really think this whole thing is gonna work out
just fine
this thing is really the biggest thing im doing for summer
i leave this tuesday for the recce trip
i hope all goes well
im really tired.
took the 1am to 6am slot for the cyclethon
im totally like drained now

2008-06-01T22:24:00.003+08:00

beef noodle
thaksin beef noodle
seah im food centre

the texture of the beef is nice
and the soup stock is pretty ok
my only gripe is the price
3.50 for a foam bowl
the presentation was totally sucky
and a real turn off from the start
so no matter how tasty the product
its kinda disgusting to eat it from foam
i have this thing against this kinda packaging
i get irritated when i scratch the bottom of it
it makes this scratching noise that
just gets on my nerves

2008-06-01T22:23:00.000+08:00

i still love donut factory
happy days,
i love peanut butter.

2008-05-30T02:56:00.001+08:00

my work for the ride from the hut banner
the roadshow is this weekend
i couldnt play in much of the planning
so this is my two cents worth
beach hut
sat - sun .

2008-05-29T22:46:00.009+08:00

just trust me to go to fullerton for dinner
and forget to bring my camera
so i apologise for the crappy resolution
and the grainy handphone pics
i wanna like
strangle myself
anyway
here goes...

cream of celeriac
with roasted scallop and apple puree
fullerton hotel straits room
(so i have no idea where the food's from)

this is the picture above
its a soup, a creamy one
like duh
its my first time having celeriac
btw, i had no idea wth celeriac was until today
but it was pretty good
so good i didnt even know what i was eating for a while
i was thinking like it was celery
but it sure didnt taste like celery
but they had a whole roasted scallop in the middle
so u pick at it while u drink the soup
i had absolutely no idea where the apple puree comes in

tuna carpaccio with pan-fried foie gras

this is another way of saying
lets take sashimi grade tuna
slice it real thin
(serve less of it)
and call it carpaccio
but they sure didnt stinge on the liver
this baby was just right
firm yet crispy outside
creamy inside
ultra sinful
but the clean fresh taste of the tuna
made the lemak taste of the foie gras more palatable

chicken supreme
stuffed with mozzarella and basil
with broccoli mash
garden vegetables
and champagne beurre blanc

dont ask me
i have no idea what the champagne thingy is
did i memorise this?
no
i kopped one of the menus
anyway, for interests sake and generally useless knowledge
this is what a beurre blanc is
the beauty of gourmet cooking
is to stun everyone with this cheem language
then make it taste like something normal and nice
like cream sauce
which was what it tasted like
its almost the same
but then purists would crucify me
look
its creamy
its chicken with cheese
just call it a chicken cordon bleu
like everyone else
like whats with the "supreme" anyway
you wanna make it sound like fast food
yet blow me away with the complexity of beurre blanc
tell me you see the disconnect here

amaretto chocolate cake
with pistachio sauce

this was the ultimate in sinful
not too sweet
and super rich with cocoa flavour
but i couldnt feel the amaretto at all
thats not saying that it wasnt nice
while i may complain
it doesnt mean that im ungrateful
or that i a huge fuss pot
i loved tonight's dinner
which caught me totally unawares
which was why i didnt bother with the camera
which brings me to my final lesson of the day
always
always
be prepared.

2008-05-28T16:10:00.003+08:00

ginger crumble ice cream w/ waffles

daily scoop
41 Sunset Way
clementi arcade

the ginger ice cream had this really strong ginger taste
which was good cuz i really like it
i also loved the fact that they had candied ginger inside as well
reminds me of my aunt's gingerbread cookies
the rest all thought the ginger ice cream was
a strange combination with the waffle
but the crumble part was just nice
not too much biscuits
and the whole thing together was really frangrant and nice
i loved the run & raisin too.

an ode to a burger.

2008-05-28T15:51:00.004+08:00

relish by wildrocket
cluny court

i have been wanting to try this
gourmet burger joint since forever
so i decided to take j. there
to sample the famous burgers

i was positively starving when this baby came
hmmm from this angle it kinda looks like a zinger
and that looks like a kfc chicken patty
i shall not insult a 19 dollar burger anymore
because this seafood burger was packed with
prawns, octopus and stuff which i can't remember
then lemon mayo was put over it
the rest of this dish was nothing to crow about
the fried were of a reasonable standard
but on the whole i found it to be rather small
oh well
i thought that it was a novel place
with pretty decent and creative food
though a little pricey

2008-05-27T08:49:00.002+08:00

thank you.
i had a great time last night
we should really do this more often
but then you know i have the thailand trip
and all my other stuff
and you have work
but hey
i'm glad we somehow managed to squeeze out time
to chill out together
hanging out with you is always nice.

katrina reborn.

2008-05-26T13:23:00.005+08:00

after crashing umpteen weeks ago
i destroyed
ok maybe not destroyed
but i cracked my rear wheel
so my katrina
was out of action for a long while
forcing me to take edna to desaru
and on many training rides subsequently
being the onli guy on a mountainbike is tough
all the rest are zipping around on their machines
but im struggling to chase their rears
but i finally decided on a wheelset
that offered me great value for money
so now...
presenting...
my whirlwind woman
my hurricane honey
blow me (away).

2008-05-26T13:17:00.003+08:00

grandma's xo crab tung hoon
went to the grandparents house the day before
grandma offered me food
which just happened to be this sweet crab vermicelli
there were giant cloves of garlic
and plenty of xo in this cool dish
i think i have a love affair with garlic cloves
but they have to be cooked
raw garlic is lethal
im not that insane
i love it when the whole cloves are cooked
till they are soft and creamy inside
i really want to go to the okonomiyaki place
to have those fried garlic cloves
beer too.

goldilocks.

2008-05-22T22:26:00.005+08:00

'll be picking these babies up tom
finally after a long period of pouring over
tech documents and specs
i've finally decided on the best bang for my buck
which is not out of stock like the soul 3.0s
now the question is,
gold or silver?
maybe i should let katrina decide.

lovers trail.

2008-05-22T10:34:00.004+08:00

went for a nightbike recce last night
supposed to look for creepy places
but for all the nice scenery we saw
i think we should seriously change it to like

"the 10 best make out spots"
or
"where to take your significant other"
or
"scenic spots in our island"

ah well, took a few shots
actually i took quite a lot
but i chucked alot of them away
cuz my camera really sucks at taking nightshots
everything gets really blur
i want my G9 soon.

2008-05-21T00:50:00.003+08:00

liege waffles
The Sweet Stone Parad'Ice
2nd Level
Golden Mile Food Centre

hawker centre belgian waffles
as blogged about by many others
and myself, having gone there only today
because, i didn't realise the army market
was actually golden mile food centre
how smart could i be
and all this while i've been gettin some of my fav stuff
like the beef noodles
and the goreng pisang
but i've never tried these funky places like
the pasta or these waffles
firstly,
i have no idea why they call themselves
the sweet stone paradise
if this is just another name rip off
from cold stone creamery,
then its a really really bad one
because at least the others have the cold stone
ice cream mixing novelty thingy
but this is a hawker centre waffle store
with scoops of "gelato"
which was just normal ice cream to me
and btw, that set there was 6 bucks
what a freaking rip off
the waffles werent crispy or anything
its just waffle mix, ice cream and choc sauce
bloody hell
anyone could come up with that
a fancy ripped off name
and attempts to make it sound belgian
are not going to help if the food is crappy
the cheapo styrofoam plates didn't help
don't waste your time.

2008-05-19T20:08:00.003+08:00

just got back from my desaru training camp

with the ride from the heart crew
we stayed at this lovely place called sebana resort
it was like this whole sentosa cove concept thing
except that this place was built in 1998
so you can see in the panorama here
this is the bloody beautiful harbour/dock
for the various ships from various lands to dock in
the five star trailer park of the high seas
lovely lovely views
the weather in desaru was insane though
but apparently so was the weather back home
it reminded me of the cloudless skies in thailand
where the sunshine blazed straight thru
assailing us with his rays
peeling off my shoulders
and withering our bodies and spirits
after two days of intense weather conditioning
i hope everyone manages their recovery well
and no one falls ill from the strain
training tom morning 5am
zzzzzz.

2008-05-16T19:18:00.003+08:00

i leave for desaru tomorrow morning
grrr
my rear wheel is fucked
there's a crack... now i HAVE to buy new wheels
haha
then again that really isnt such a bad thing
hehe
yay!

2008-05-15T00:38:00.003+08:00

Thai Fried Baby Squid
Magic Wok Kitchen
11 Stamford Road
Capitol Building #01-20

good combination of onions and bell peppers
which provided that extra sweetness
to deal with the fried oiliness
of the baby squid
the best part about thai cooking is that
anything fried with lime juice is nice
below is their deep fried fish cakes
which had chunky pieces of meat inside
some of the better fish cakes ive eaten

kukup.

2008-05-12T09:21:00.002+08:00

the final leg of the week long smux endurance challenge
kudos to all those who finished the whole nine yards
or more like the whole 200km of it
it was great to spend stong and kukup with you guys
lingyi,weiyuan,jj,ce-wei,john,lester,zaoyi,weibin
i bet everyone is like half dead right now
haha but it was a really really fun week
i didnt really take much photos
cuz i didnt have time to take them
and everyone was taking photos of people already
so i only have random shots
oh well
it was to say the least a most eventful trip
we had like 5 crashes
megazillion punctures
and the safety car almost got destroyed
thank god for the 4 wheel drive
i swear my heart stopped when i saw the car stuck
but thanks to some skillful driving by chi-hao
we managed to get it out of the ditch
argh
the aar for this event is going to be a bitch
we've got lots of things to talk about

my stong stony.

2008-05-12T08:46:00.004+08:00

finally back from a week of fun and excitement
went to gunong stong from mon to fri
its a 1400m mountain in kelantan
thats north malaysia btw
officially my first time outfield since leaving army
i must say that i really didnt feel like
going thru the horrors of the jungles again
but oh well
thanks for coming up with so much food
so i wouldnt need to feel cold and hungry
i hate the cold
so i have to eat a lot in the cold to keep warm
otherwise i'll start to shiver
so im glad we cooked so many nice meals
officially my best outfield in terms of food
ah well
i honestly miss stong
and yes i do think about it and feel about it
but i shall look forward
i hate the post trip blues and nostalgia
dammit im such a sucker for the past its amazing
oh well... moving on, moving on

picture taken from caryn's facebook, i took that pic, so technically its mine too? =)

my little shangri-la.

2008-05-04T01:11:00.002+08:00

went to kukup today for a car recce
took a few photos
its a really chill out relaxed place
can't wait to go next weekend

ben the driver.

2008-05-02T22:26:00.003+08:00

*gloats
my license photo is going to be mother ugly
forgot to bring a photo
so i took one at the centre
after taking off my hat
damn messy

2008-05-02T22:15:00.001+08:00

my first award
goodness, im honoured
thank you!

2008-05-01T15:52:00.003+08:00

road rash
after crashing on the descent of mount faber
the result of overconfident descending
and having more balls than brains
on hindsight
it could've been much worse
so i offer a silent prayer of thanks

2008-05-01T15:31:00.002+08:00

Double Milk w/ Mango Juice
记得吃
8 Liang Seah Street

my eating partner in crime and i
both agreed that this was damn good
btw, its the white one
(yes we ate all these)
back to the point
the top layer is your nice and soft
double boiled milk
which is like fluffy light custard
which is really as close as i get to an explanation
but its nothing like custard
think of custard and tau hway mixed
and u would seem to get an idea
but the killer is below
beneath this is the sweet mango juice
which goes really well with the top layer
think of it as a very very good
mango pudding
ok im not doing it justice
but seriously, it was a wow dessert

2008-05-01T15:09:00.002+08:00

Beef Noodle Soup
Mango Salad
Diandin Leluk
#01-67, Golden Mile Complex

i know i know,
boring food choices
but i was looking for some comfort food
and this is one of the best i've had
the beef noodles were seriously good and cheap
they were 3 bucks
and had like beef balls and sliced beef
the beef was tender and not hard
the mango salad was seriously great
they had just the right texture and flavour
some crunchy bits which i had trouble identifying
gave it that edge
paired with a bottle of singha
for that perfect comfort food dinner

2008-05-01T14:36:00.007+08:00

the best friend.
Victor's Kitchen
Sunshine Plaza 01-21

after much deliberation
we decided to try out the place that
chubby hubby had posted on his blog

Victor's King Prawn Dumpling
the most common thing wrong
about har gau
is that the prawns are overcooked
and a sign of an even decent
dim sum place
is that the prawns in the har gau
must have a crunchy texture
while i seemed to doubt the freshness for a while
it does pass the first test

Yu Tiao Cheong Fun
this is your normal chee cheong fun
with a twist of you tiao inside
lately i seem to have been sampling food
with you tiao as the trump card
its that little extra thing to make something more enjoyable
i was pretty concerned that the youtiao might
have its normal chewy texture
but this one was fried crispy
which set it off nicely with the
smooth skin of the cheong fun

Tasty Queen Size Siew Mai
while it says king and queen size everything here
do not be deceived
these guys are tiny
lucky they were pretty decent
otherwise i wouldve had something to say
but the food here is slightly above your normal
standards of dim sum
but i think i've eaten much better dim sum
and that this place
was kinda just hyped up by chubby hubby

Double-Boiled Fresh Milk
w/ Fresh Ginger Juice
this one on the other hand was light and fluffy
and pretty full of ginger taste
but ive tasted better at liang seah

2008-04-29T00:58:00.003+08:00

XO Durian Cheong Fun
House of Rice Roll & Porridge
75 Killiney Road

served cold
with sprinklings of sugared crushed peanuts
the traditional chee cheong fun
with a dessert twist
imagine soft and light rice flour rolls
which are true for all their huge range of cheong funs
(see their prawn version)
this one is packed with thick durian pengat
and u get this delightful treat
im glad they didnt sweeten out the durian paste
made for a real fusion dish
with authenticity in it
which may seem paradoxical, an authentic fusion
good stuff.

Cannondale for G-Star Raw

2008-04-28T00:54:00.003+08:00

Raw Cannondale

this is a collaboration between g-star raw and cannondale
this is part of g-star raw's crossover concept to tie-up
and produce products which reflect its rugged image
and its industrial look
so besides this they also have stuff like
the raw defender and raw ferry
this is pretty much the standard "bad boy" frame
with the headshok and all
but its got lotsa custom parts
like tricked out fenders and leather saddle
hydro disc brakes
and there's only 500 of em
sweet.

2008-04-27T09:42:00.003+08:00

laksa cream seafood pasta
creation cafe
shaw towers (beach road)

this is really good
damn good food, damn good price
haha better than botak jones anyday
in terms of value
for 15.20 nett
a dinner set meal will give you
soup with bread
one pasta
dessert
drink
the laksa cream sauce tasted authentic
but for one thing
if they put the laksa leaves
it would've smelt much much better
but still, it was very well done
for dessert, the brownie was standard fair
but what stood out was the apple crumble
so i would say dont waste time on the brownie
all desserts come with a dollop of vanilla ice cream
shioks

back.

2008-04-25T18:08:00.002+08:00

i'm back!
had lotsa fun relaxing and drinking coffee in hcmc
i swear if there's one thing i didnt wanna leave behind it was the coffee
oh well i posted photos on my facebook
im too lazy to put entries here
hahaha

2008-04-25T17:58:00.002+08:00

thunder tea rice
suntec city food republic

supposedly a hakka dish
i had absolutely no idea this thing even existed
but considering the super vegetably taste
and the chlorophyll tasting soup
kinda reminds you of that korean rice bowl as well
strangely, if i get rice and food and soup at home
sometimes i pour the soup into the rice
which is precisely what you do here
you pour the bloody green nonsense into ur rice
i thought it was a bit iffy at first, but it turned out ok

seen at bikeasia08. (cannondale ON)

2008-04-19T23:59:00.008+08:00

seen at bikeasia08. (colnago for ferrari with lightweights)

2008-04-19T23:52:00.006+08:00

another colnago for ferrari bike
but this one has custom
lightweight wheels by carbonsports

just look at these huge ass hubs
they're supposed to be the stiffest in the world

one word says it all

seen at bikeasia08. (cannondale supersix)

2008-04-19T23:21:00.010+08:00

Cannondale SuperSix
first full carbon frame from dale

zero gravity brakes

zipp carbon crankset

sram red rear derailleur

sram red hollow cassette

2008-04-19T17:52:00.002+08:00

EXAMS ARE OVER!

seen at bikeasia08. (bianchi & ducati)

2008-04-18T00:58:00.010+08:00

bianchi had some really nice stuff on display
loved their classic stuff so much
cuz they have this really nice shade of pastel green
as their trademark colour
and this badge was so ol sch
i had to take a photo of it

the 928 carbon
veloce components
full carbon frame

this was a beautiful steel bike
with really cool reverse brake levers (below)

did you know bianchi made bikes
for ducati as well?
yeaps
if u visit the bianchi website
there's a ducati section
this was the ducati bike on display
at the ducati section of course

seen at bikeasia08. (cannondale slice ultimate)

2008-04-18T00:24:00.006+08:00

this is the beauty
that faris al sultan is riding now
its a really sweet ride
and my friend josh was lucky enough
to see it when he went for ironman langkawi recently
he also met the man himself!
haha damn lucky to be so close to the kona winner

thats the bike on the left
and josh on the left
the cool part about faris's version
it the xentis integrated aerobars at the front
and the mark 1 aerowheels from xentis as well

faris al sultan in the middle

images kopped from facebook, thanks josh!

seen at bikeasia08. (colnago extreme power)

2008-04-18T00:15:00.004+08:00

more ram bars
pure art
this one had pictures of the cinelli logos
in doodle form
bright colours covered in high gloss
really trick

2008-04-17T22:02:00.001+08:00

i want to achieve critical mass

seen at bikeasia08. (cannondale six13 6)

2008-04-16T23:05:00.003+08:00

Cannondale Six13 6
in Lightning White
full shimano tiagra groupset
which is like second from the bottom in terms of groupsets
i was really surprised that this groupset which is normally paired
with lower end bikes
was put on the six13
which is a very very high level composite frame
i just thought this was a one off just to display the frame
as a full bike for the show
but lo and behold
i went to cannondale's website
and there it was
the Six13 6
full tiagra
right at the bottom of the tier
reduced in hierarchy
by the SystemSix and the SuperSix
to an "entry level" model
thats damn sad
it was only in the year 2006
that it was the most elite model from cannondale
absolutely ridiculous
but i guess this sudden rate of technology transfer
was due to cannondale jumping on the carbon bandwagon late
so due to consumer pressures they had to quickly
downgrade all of their aluminum models
which is very sad
because prior to the carbon revolution
cannondale was known for making some
of the lightest aluminum frames

lust.

2008-04-15T18:22:00.003+08:00

i want this baby.

image from wacom

seen at bikeasia08. (shimano deer head)

2008-04-15T09:25:00.007+08:00

Shimano Deore XT "Deer Head" Group (1982)

this was officially the first mountainbike
groupset ever made
it was ridden by pioneers in mountainbiking
when it first started out as a very niche sport
I have my speculations
because on certain old documents
the components are labelled
"deer head XT"
deer head/deore/deer head/deore
say it fast enough
did our beloved deore
stem from the words "deer head"
i think it is a little far fetched but not entirely impossible

but that being said
these were probably the most pimp and zhng
parts available during that period of time
the brushed silver finish
with clear graphics of the deer head
was a metaphor for cowboy style riding
i think the simple logo is visually very appealing
there is a slight relief in the black area
which makes the deer head come out at you
i think this is retro fierce

fd-m700 front derailleur

rd-m700 rear derailleur

sl-m700 shift levers

seen at bikeasia08. (high end polygons)

2008-04-15T08:01:00.006+08:00

these are all of polygon's high end offerings
all in full carbon fibre frames
with the highest end components
a couple of years back, polygon gave me the impression
of being this really crappy market bike
and being the elitist shit that i am
always used it as an adjective for a market bike
needless to say my opinions have 180ed
and well, you really couldnt
(even if u tried)
to call these beauties
market bikes.

the helios spirit, the highest end tt bike
full campy record
mavic cosmic carbones
vision carbon integrated tt bar
8700 sg yuan
i've been wanting to take a look at this in their shops
but i never did get to see one
saw it since last year

the helios 780
with full campy record
mavic ksyrium es in this display
although the website shows it with sl's
full ritchey wcs carbon components
4900 sg yuan

the 780 again, in full dura ace

this baby is the cozmic rx3.0
full carbon hardtail
sid fork
full xtr
ritchey wcs
mavic slr wheels

i believe that other than the tt bike
the others offer really good value for money
although please dont quote me on the pricing
its just what i saw on the labels at the show
i highly doubt the campy version of the helios 780
is the same price as the dura ace
which is what the tags there seemed to indicate

seen at bikeasia08. (wr80 womens road shoe)

2008-04-14T22:07:00.006+08:00

SH-WR80
this is shimano's highest end
women's specific road shoe
its made smaller for female feet
especially for asian female feet which are typically shorter
it also comes with shimano's
new heat mouldable technology
so you get a custom feet for your foot everytime
actually i took this shot cuz i love the colours
but its really sad i cant show them here
they're really a nice shade of baby blue trim on white
and the model number is this yellow in cursive at the rear
nice.

paris-roubaix

2008-04-13T23:03:00.008+08:00

at almost exactly 11pm singapore time

BOONEN WINS

with Cancellara in second
cyclingnews site was totally lagging
from the live feed traffic

image from james huang, cyclingnews

seen at bikeasia08. (pro stealth evo)

2008-04-13T18:56:00.006+08:00

once again, this is from pro
the stealth evo carbon integrated handlebars
in white
the anatomical model is displayed here
you can see the very wide top section of the handlebar
which allows you to comfortably rest
in a relatively upright position
it weighs in at 350g
which is a pretty decent weight for a wing bar
i took it cuz it would make perfect eyecandy for katrina.
a full white bike
hmmm
paolo bettini....

seen at bikeasia08. (brembo carbon disks)

2008-04-13T15:57:00.006+08:00

the very very pimp
brembo carbon disk brake rotors
used by the best in the moto gp

this is not exactly bicycle related
but i was just musing that since the disk brake for bicycles
was taken from motorcycle technology
will we see carbon rotors soon?
or even ceramic composite rotors soon?
i believe the possibility is not far off
it might even happen by next year
considering the rapid technological advances that have happened
over the last few years alone
so dont be too surprised or skeptical

i can already imagine the xtr cnc'd on the caliper

seen at bikeasia08. (sram gxp1)

2008-04-13T15:25:00.005+08:00

this is another thing which is not on the manufacturers website
i believe right now it's only stocked on oem bikes
the sram gxp 1

which is currently stock on this cannondale
the north american version of the rize 4

which interestingly is very different from the
european version
which uses more shimano parts and mavic rims
the eu version also uses avid diskbrakes
in favour of the states's hayes ones

so after digressing,
the point was that the sram gxp1 crank
is the same crank as the truvativ stylo 3.3 team
which is not surprising, but i think
the new look of the gxp1 is more geared towards
the "red" range that sram has launched for the road groups
with its gunmetal anodized chainrings and wet black finish
most alloys will go for the wet black finish these days
as it looks very much like a carbon clearcoat

seen at bikeasia08. (san marco zoncolan)

2008-04-13T12:29:00.003+08:00

this is the new selle san marco flagship model for this year
i believe it is very much in response to selle italia's
more aggressive looking product line which includes
the very fierce looking thoork
the manufacturers are creating more and more unique looking products
in their attempt to differentiate their product
but the new designs have pretty nifty features
and a common ground is probably the extra long nose of each model
this zoncolan has a huge nose to cushion the blows
when the rider is sitting forward in the saddle

seen at bikeasia08. (WH-7850-CSL-TU????)

2008-04-13T02:21:00.009+08:00

this is the first look at the shimano low profile carbon tubular
the deep section is called WH-7850-C50-TU
wheel/model range/carbon50mm/tubular
the low profile aluminum clincher/tubeless
is called WH-7850-SL
so combining the two should give u
WH-7850-CSL-TU
or
WH-7850-C24-TU
or something along those lines
i dont know the product number obviously,
so if anyone knows u can enlighten me.
the babies have the same red anodized nipples
just like the alu version
damn fierce.