Coffee Bean goes halal

It was some months ago that Linda told me a friend of hers, an employee at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf mentioned the café getting THE cert anytime soon. Months whizzed pass yet no news of – until the 24th of May. Tucked neatly as the front page highlights, Berita Harian announced all 41 outlets obtaining the Muslim “go-ahead-and-feast” stamp, with 2 more outlets at Downtown East and Ogilvy Centre on the way.

Read it to believe it!

Its Project Manager overseeing the process of the halal certification stated that the bid to go halal had been made 3 to 4 years back but was put on hold, while waiting for the coffee distributors in the US of A to obtain a halal certification from their side, that is Ifanca. The cakes (delectable I might add), he added, were not a problem as they do not contain alcohol since 4 years ago.

And get this, Coffee Bean is the actual pioneer behind the clever concept of ice-blended drink, only the rave in any café. And don’t miss out on online orders of myriad cakes and party packs from Chocolate Strawberries In A Box & Cheesecake Sampler to Mini Pizzas & Quiches.

I guess now I can have that chicken sandwich to accompany my mocha frappe and cranberry muffin. Cheers.

THE Original Ice-Blended, only at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

David to win American Idol 7!

It has finally come down to a battle between the Davids and boy finals never sounded this good!! Just look at the number of reviews flooding the worldwideweb.. Dare i say even bigger than the presidential race to the whitehouse right now.. Like Obama Hilary who yall talkin' bout?? Yeah they may be all smiles but boy the punches they had in store!

Big Cook was his rocker self, although honestly I was an itsy bitsy disappointed over his overall performance. Man don’t you hate it when Simon’s right.. right about at the stage of the competition where contestants are supposed to pan out WINNING songs than indulgent ones, and for that, something tells me Archekins might just walk away as the 7th AI.

Upbeat rocker songs no matter how catchy don’t make winning songs. Slow, inspiring and show-stopping songs do. And who better belts such songs but Archie. Talking about the fine lad, I swear Archie’s gonna pass out after every song!! He seems so flushed and truly surprised at each comments…Sorta reminds you of Melinda don’t it? Oh come on you know you’re good! Thank Ryan for holding him still while the judges comment. And what’s up with those drop-it-like-its-HOT RED lips?? Omg WHAT shade of lipstick is that? His lips are bleeding more red than a vampire’s sucking. Wrong analogy? Whatever haha.

Something like this, sans fangs and much less bling

So here’s my review of the Final 2 performances:

1st round: Heard the song b4, predictable sound from Big D. Just olraight I guess. For lil’D an even famous song, Elton John’s mind you.. SO blatantly obvious that Clive Davis has his eyes set on lil’D, him giving that kid a standing ovation was for everyone to witness… not fair I say!! Although I hate to say that it does take guts and a heck of a big voice to pull off a well-known song, so david archuleta, the sun definitely ain’t gonna go down on you for this one.

Ding ding ding! Round 1 goes to the corner in blue!

2nd round: Wow thats OST material right there!! But not to sure whether that constitutes a compliment for Cook though. Archekins went with an oh-so inspiring song, no surprise there and so leaves round 2 sort of like a warm-up round for the big finale… and for viewers to get a quickie at the loo.

-- IT’S A DRAW! --

3rd round: Simon’s right to say that Cook would have stood a better chance with Billie jean, Hello or even Always be my baby.. and get everyone wanting to have his haha. But David did have a good point in that, why do smth he’s done before? Like I never thought of such reasoning and was glad he chose to hold his ground and stood up for what he believes in the ethics of performing. BUT for the record, he did understand what SImon was trying to point out hehe..

Let it out brother… let it ALL out…..

I just like posting his pics, that’s all :D

Hmm, Archie my dear boy, you made me fall in love with your voice all over. The last song sent me on a trip back to the audition days, reminiscing the moment where he pulled my (and im sure many MANY other) heartstrings with his emotionally-packed, heart-tugging, warmth-inducing rendition of Bryan Adam’s Heaven. Oh im thinking about our younger years… God im getting old.

Look into my dreamy eyes…. when I say vote… Dial IDOL-01 and VOTE!

With 2 rounds against the Rocker, and if the judges comments are anything to go by, the Belter gets the better hand at bagging the tilte thanks to wise song choices showcasing one heck of a voice. You could really tell Simon was rooting for the former and how Cook lost him as the show progressed. Couldn’t even be bothered to watch Cook (utterly rude btw!!!) waste his last song on an entirely new one., but hey, that’s his prerogative.

Chicks dig guitars and the bad boy image don’t they?? Yeah this goes to all you single laydees out there… coz (where’s the camera??) YES im as single as can get!!

But whatever the outcome, there’s no doubt about them deserving to clinch the top two spots. NEVER in the bottom 3 yo! Doesn’t really matter who gets the title, Song BMG record deal, fame and fortune, all the girls.. ok maybe after a couple of months of sulking and whimpering trying to get over the lost and what could’ve been his. Just look at Draughtry now and.. Ruben… huh ruben whoo?? My point exactly. And can someone please pass him a towel… a super-soaker while you’re at it!!

Man this guy is awesome… No you’re too nice, consistently nice! Aww just give the man a hug!!

Presenting once again the Davids of AI7

Imagine..





The World I know.

Man i gotta start posting food reviews!!

Lazy sunday afternoon

Another lazy Sunday afternoon and you find yourself with nuts to do and loads of time at your dispense. And of course with so many interesting shows on tv, how else would you rather spend your last morsel of a weekend before monday blues sets in right? I’m talking about unheard of sunday noon movies that really is a time filler more than anything, and reruns of programme that you might have missed the first time... intentionally.

So there I layed on the bed (lazy ass bum right, can’t even sit while watching tv) switching channels countless times over until I finally settled on a programme on Suria miffing teenagers, or so the title implies. Like seriously, Ish remaja?? Isshhh you grown-up adults you!! Oh what a minute, I AM one of them. Ish ish ish.

Anyway… the topic at hand were hobbies these punksters are getting involved in these days compared to the days of occupying the only decent sitting place at the void deck only to strum the heartstrings away. God, isn’t that the kind of stereotypically comments that never fails to irk you, only to realise that it’s kinda sad that we never seem to outgrow our ways of such narrowed thinking? It’s one thing to associate “typical behaviour” to race, but to talk about it as normality? I mean I can’t say I’m not guilty of indulging in clichéd remarks, but it’s beneficial when it’s used as a talking point for a thinking dialogue.

Then again, to think of it, it’s only natural that we have such a mentality when we are brought up in a society which takes no heed in such issues, simply choosing to ignore and brush under the rug.

They think coz it’s a sensitive topic, it shouldn’t be brought to light.. Yes, thou shall not speakth of.. Boy do we need education in our classrooms.. and fast. While it may be tad too late to reverse such thinking of normality, it is never too late nor impossible to educate the generation after a thing or two, so they can in turn bring some positive change in the society they call their own. Be the change you want to see in the world, Gandhi once said. Ok so maybe AED101 wasn’t all that bad a module after all :p

Ok so what the heck where was i? OH yeah, lazy sunday noons and the case of bad reruns!! Ok maybe not as bad when it gives you something to think about. Like when a question was posed as to whether having a hobby would deter kids from getting themselves involved in the wrong things and hence contribute to gejala-gejala sosial (society’s problems). So what, you’re tryna say that no hobby = free time = no focus = will try anything for the thrill of it = teeming case of teen delinquents? So if you ain’t got no hobby, you’ll be doomed to a life of felony?

I was like, WHAT?? I happen to have a lot of free time but I don’t go around sniffing for pleasurable highs and shoplifting lipglosses!! I think teens are missing the point here.. It’s not really having nothing to do that compels an adolescent to experiment and get into trouble, it is beyond that. What about family background, lack of education, negative peer pressure, or parents who were never really there? IMO curiosity doesn’t cut it. One might be curious about how certain things work, but the decision to succumb to it is another issue all together. Sure, it might be one of the driving factors contributing to teen troubles, but surely there are more serious underlying causes such as that stemming from the type of upbringing, or even worst, the absence of it.. what is a house when you can’t call it a home?

I don’t think simply having no hobbies would spiral one to a life of no focus, and therefore would be compelled to try the bad and ugly.

Then again, it is not to say that having no hobbies would be the way to go. I myself, found a hobby in my interest in food and dining experience, although not particularly friendly to the waistline hehe..

At least we saw one thing eye to eye,that was when the host pointed out that the free time - which is virtually like NO TIME for Singaporean students – should make the most out of it, to utilize it wisely towards the betterment of oneself.

So boys and girls, laydees and gents, why not try something that would benefit society while enjoying every minute of it? Can’t we contribute to a better world, or at least the society we live in and still have fun chilling out with your buds? Why not…

Join a cycling club and organise a ride to help a charity in need?

Lend a hand at the nearest mosque, temple, church or synagogue when they are short of volunteers?

Round up a group of friends and help organise an outing of a lifetime for the children of welfare?

Put that Martha Stewart cap on and go crazy with bakes and cakes to raise money for someone who very much needs it..

Invite friends and friends of friends as volunteers at meet-the-residents session, to understand and empathise your neighbours who are constantly beleaguered by problems, which makes you reflect and appreciate your life a lot more than before?

You don’t need to save the cheerleader to save the world (just HAD to say that).

So while im lying on my bed, switching through the channels 100 and 1 times over, don’t worry, I won’t be reaching for that tub of glue across the room for a sniffing session. Maybe a craft sale perhaps?