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.

Beauty & The Beast Screening Postponed Indefinitely

Latest update from The Star, 14 March 2017

Apparently, the Censorship Board has approved Beauty & The Beast to be released in cinemas. It's unlikely the release will be as per original date, but at least it's not banned.

Disney fans, let's rejoice! There's no need to cry anymore.

This is so going to be my birthday movie :D

Logan

Seeing Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, donning the adamantium claws for the last time in Logan evokes many emotions. I have been watching him in character for 17 years since the first X-Men movie was released in 2000. And I must say, Jackman is one of the best portrayal of such iconic character from Marvel universe.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Donnie Yen in a Star Wars film?! It'll be wing chun overloaded~ Sorry guys, I got carried away with the fact that Asians were cast in one of the Star Wars films. Another Chinese actor, Jiang Wen was cast as Baze Malbus alongside Yen's Chirrut Imwe.

Let's be honest...I was anticipating this movie because of Yen & nothing else. The plot synopsis, as we were told, vaguely describes a rogue group that stole the blueprints of the Death Star. In short, Rogue One is a spin-off from the original Star Wars film set in between Episode III - Revenge of the Sith & Episode IV - A New Hope.

Rocku Yakiniku

A friend of WL invited us join for dinner at Rocku Yakiniku, a newly opened restaurant branch at 1 Utama & invited us to join for dinner. We headed in a group of 7, took our seats & started ordering.

Nara Kitchen & Co, Uptown Damansara

It was time for an outing with my girlfriends after a long overdue plan. We finally managed to squeeze in our meet-up on a weekend, which we normally spend with our other half. The selected venue was Nara Kitchen & Co at Uptown Damansara.

Where exactly is Nara Kitchen & Co? It's not surprising to get lost as Uptown Damansara is literally surrounded with rows of shops from all directions. To put it simply, the cafe/restaurant is situated along the same row as Wondermilk; just couldn't remember if Nara Kitchen comes first or the other way.

Dr Strange

Oh my...Benedict Cumberbatch taking on the role as the self-titled movie Dr Strange is bound to be an interesting one. I mean, who can actually contain the excitement upon hearing this news? *squeals*

Credit: ScreenRant

Suicide Squad

Marvel Studios has their own MCU & now DC Comics is joining in the bandwagon to create their own cinematic universe. Just because...

I tried to immerse myself into DC's cinematic universe by starting off with a reboot of Superman titled Man Of Steel. Unfortunately, it failed to impress me & I have covered a review about it previously. I decided to skip the next lineup, Batman vs Superman as I wasn't convinced with the new cast - the fact that Ben Affleck is the caped dark crusader bothers me.

Then along came Suicide Squad, which is an assemble of villainy characters in DC ala Avengers style. I didn't even consider this movie in my must-watch list but WL asked me to give this movie a chance. The casts include Will Smith & Jared Leto so it shouldn't be all that bad, I thought.

Credit: MoviePosterDB.com

Star Trek Beyond

When it was confirmed that J. J. Abrams will not direct the 3rd installment of Star Trek due to Star Wars commitments, I was quite disappointed. Just when he breathed life into the franchise with great casts (not necessarily newcomers), we have to put up with Abrams departure.

As if the news wasn't enough, UIP broke the news that Justin Lin will be taking over Abrams' place. Boy, I was worried. Justin did a great job for Furious 7 but I really couldn't imagine him directing a sci-fi movie, not when his credentials consist of mostly horror movies & an action movie.

Boy, I was worried.

My sister & I had to watch it with our own eyes & so we gave the movie & the new director a chance.

So, how did the movie fare?

Village Roast Duck, The Gardens Mid Valley

I'm probably not the best person to advise the latest food joints or restaurants that opened its doors at Mid Valley area because I don't hang out there as often as I used to. But when I bumped into one that is pretty good, I need to share it to the world even if I'm not the first one (probably not the last) to write about it.

Village Duck is a restaurant situated on LG at The Gardens Mall, and seems to be constantly bustling with crowd. We stepped into the premise & gave it a try since WL was craving for duck. The orders soon came quickly with the wantan mee first.