Exhausted

I was on a hiatus for the longest time & I truly felt bad for not writing often in this humble blog of mine. Work has pretty much taken a 80% of my time & energy each day. Whatever left is for the house chores & spending little time with my hubby.

I've been deprived of hobbies & includes blogging. I think I'm starting to forget how to bake as well, considering the seriously lacked of time I had for practice. What a pity when I actually spent a good sum of money to improve my baking skills.

So why 24 hours doesn't seem enough for me? I chose to climb the corporate ladder these past 2 years, sort of. As much as I hate to admit, I was hungry for a promotion & a pay raise. In my mind, the pay raise means more money/savings for my future business.

I got my promotion but the raise was average. It was probably fair because I was fairly junior as a senior managerial post. What's next? I'm not sure if I want to continue to be part of corporate anymore considering the long working hours & mismatched in business mindset between myself & the company at large.

Perhaps a new beginning is waiting for me next year.

Crazy Rich Asians

With the hype circling around the most anticipated summer movie Crazy Rich Asians, I have refrained myself from reading the book nor owning one for fear of disappointment that the movie can't deliver up to the book's expectation. I went into the theatre hall without any expectation; purely in for the entertainment.

And? *drum rolls*

Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again

Ten years ago, I won tickets to watch Mamma Mia movie & I brought Mum along as my movie date. I even did a short blog about it here. A decade later, the movie studio has decided to do a sequel after the success of the first movie. Titled Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, the story focuses more on Sophie's story about wanting to fulfil her mother, Donna Sheridan's dream.

This time, I thought it would be a nice idea to bring along Mum & my sister for a mother-daughters bonding session. Prior to the movie, we have a big question lingering in our minds - how would the sequel turn out since all the ABBA's greatest hits have been exhausted in the first film? Let's find out...

Avengers: Infinity War Part 1

It's the Avengers we all have been waiting for; a culmination of 10 years of Marvel movies leading up to the final battle with the ultimate villain, Thanos. The launch date was timely on the last week of April followed by a long holiday weekend to Labour's Day. I was excited, so is my hubby & we straight away hit the purchase button on the cinema website for the slot on April 30 coinciding with our annual leave too.

What's the final verdict? Let's find out.

Rampage

Sighs...where do I begin? We all know Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has been pretty busy lately, with movies released back to back - from Jumanji last year to the latest Rampage this month, and Skyscraper slated for release some time in June.

The Greatest Showman

Hugh Jackman in a musical is not new news; his earlier gigs were mostly theatrical/musical based productions before his breakthrough role as Wolverine in Hollywood. Somehow, seeing him headlining The Greatest Showman evokes a strange feeling within me. I'm still not ready for this man putting his iconic comic hero behind him & moving on (or should I say, moving back) to what he does best - singing & dancing.

Thor: Ragnarok

Thor: Ragnarok marks the end of the Thor trilogy, as Marvel Cinematic Universe inches closer to the long-awaited Avengers: Infinity War. This movie comes after Guardians of the Galaxy 2 which was released earlier this year, as part of Marvel Studios' movie lineup in 2017.

Not surprisingly, Ragnarok adopted Guardians of the Galaxy's theme famous for its retro soundtracks & psychedelic colour palettes - a tribute to the 70s & 80s. I thought it was an interesting & good move, keeping the mood consistent for a good crossover.

So, how did Ragnarok fare?

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

The world saw Kingsman: The Secret Service, adapted from the less known comic book series Kingsman & absolutely loved it. The humour, vulgarity, graphic violence but executed in a light-hearted manner - pure brilliance!

Now the casts are back bigger & supposedly better with Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Did it live up to the buzz from the first movie?

Bumbu Cabe, Glo Damansara

WL & I decided to be more adventurous this weekend by opting for a different kind of cuisine, breaking away from the usual Chinese stir-fry dinners. Together with his brother's family, we scored through Eatigo's list of 50% discounted restaurants & found Bumbu Cabe, an Indonesian restaurant at Glo Damansara.

Spider-man: Homecoming

Yes, yes...I know. I was one of those few who watched Spiderman: Homecoming rather late & the review is probably long overdue when everyone else has done it before me. In this case, I'll keep it short & sweet.

Baan Kun Ya, Centrepoint Bandar Utama

Hidden on the upper floors of a rather quiet & rundown Centrepoint Bandar Utama is a Thai restaurant called Baan Kun Ya. Its interior takes on a modern, cosy style although the menu stays true to classic Thai cuisine that you can typically fine in a Thai restaurant.

One glance at the menu tells you all that the prices do not come cheap, with each dish averagely at RM20+. It was their 50% promotion that lured WL & I to try it out. We picked 4 dishes, which should be enough to fill up our dinner appetite.

Hazelnut Coffee & Bar

It was after movie that WL & I decided to grab drinks & snacks to fill up our stomachs before we prepare ourselves for dinner. We finally dropped by Hazelnut Coffee & Bar, the cafe that we would pass by each time we head to AEON Bukit Tinggi.

We picked a snack & two drinks from the menu whilst the waiter took in the orders. A lot of people say first impression counts & within split seconds, we already had a taste of bad first impression of the cafe. It was obvious that the waiter did not receive proper training; judging from the way he presents himself in front of customers - bad posture, a less than pleasant face & a voice that is seemingly uninterested.

The Mummy

Every movie studios are jumping on the bandwagon to create their own cinematic universe, when Disney has proved that they have the perfect formula for their MCU. Universal has announced their own version - Dark Universe.

The Mummy reboot is planned as a kickstarter of Dark Universe, with Universal taking a bold move to introduce a star-studded casts in this movie. The thought of seeing Tom Cruise did convinced me that the film might turned out decent.

Wonder Woman

I have doubted WB's decision to cast Gal Gadot to be the strong, female warrior Wonder Woman mainly because she wasn't convincing enough - she just didn't look the part. She is beautiful but in my opinion, didn't have the physique of a voluptuous & strong build that Wonder Woman is known for.

When I saw the movie posters, boy I was wrong. Gal Gadot looks absolutely stunning. She exudes everything that is Wonder Woman - strong, independent, sexy & above all, confidence.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge

Disney's classic staple, Pirates of the Caribbean has arrived with the 5th instalment Salazar's Revenge or also known as Dead Men Tell No Tales. I wasn't as excited as used to upon seeing the new movie released in local cinemas, but admittedly felt a sense of nostalgia & familiarity with the movie franchise that I grew up with when I was a kid.

So, I thought of giving this 5th movie another chance, hoping that it'll score better than the previous one. Did Salazar's Revenge receive a brownie point or yet delivered another disappointing outcome?

Original Cake: Is it really worth the queue?

Original Cake, the brand founded in Taiwan in 2010 that specialises in soft, fluffy cakes finally entered our Malaysian shores. Its opening at one of their first few stores, Sunway Velocity Mall attracted a huge crowd to queue for hours just to get a piece of their cake. One wonders why our fellow Malaysians were so madly in love with Original Cake, not like the brand name was revolutionary or fancy either.

Many Malaysians, particularly the Chinese community (or to be specific the Mandarin educated) who have been to Taiwan or are following Taiwanese urban culture, will definitely know Original Cake is a go-to bakery for its authentic traditional egg cake recipe. According to my colleague, the original store in Taiwan serves the incredibly fresh bakes non-stop & the aroma can be felt in the air when you're nearby. So, that generally explains the frenzy that happened during their grand opening.

I hate super long queues, even more so if the product sounds ordinary & doesn't warrant wasting my precious time for the long wait. I didn't join in the previous frenzy but instead opted for another outlet at Sunway Pyramid with lesser crowd. Not sure if the crowd really died down at this outlet or it wasn't as packed to begin with.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Well, well...who wasn't charmed by one of Marvel's underdog Guardians of the Galaxy when it was released? I was mesmerized & thrilled, for sure. The movie was so retro yet cool in a good way. It brought back 80s music to be the new "it".

The characters are quirky yet charming in their own way; someone you love to hate but couldn't. Now Marvel is back with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, can it live up to its predecessor?

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

I was never a fan of Resident Evil movies ever since the first one was released back in 2002. Film adaptations of popular video games were infamous for poorly executed plots that deviated from video games' story line. Most of the time, the films lost a great deal of important elements from the video games; signaling filmmakers seemingly lost direction while struggling to appeal to a wider audience.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is just another example bound to flop, AGAIN.

Beauty and The Beast

After all the drama about to ban or not ban, our Home Minister have given the green light to screen Beauty & The Beast. Woo-hoo! No need to travel to Singapore...awesome~

So how did the movie fare after all the anticipation, drama & disappointment? Did it live up to the expectation of the animated movie in 1992?

Strangers at 47, Sect 17 PJ

My colleague & I dropped by Strangers at 47 for lunch, which is 5 mins drive from our office. Little did we expect that there would be such a hip cafe nearby; the same row as Kanna Curry House. We arrived at the cafe already filled with lunch crowd who are likely young & hip college students.

What's even more interesting is that people still flocked to the cafe despite having limited offering on the menu. Strangers at 47 mainly serves crepes in both sweet & savoury options, light bites & beverages - hot & iced.