ENTERTAINER 2017 Launches with over 1,700 1-FOR-1 Offers & a Special Launch Price

The ENTERTAINER 2017 is big and better. Glad to be able to attend the event at Gravity Bar in Singapore recently. We had a lot of games and drinks. Entertainer sure know how to entertain us given their expertise is to provide entertainment to all clients and customers.

It is the region’s leading Buy One Get One Free incentives brand, has launched their range of products for 2017, which customers can now purchase for only SGD 95, directly from the website or through the ENTERTAINER App.

With over 1,700 Buy One Get One Free offers for hotels, restaurants, cafés, attractions, leisure activities, spas, fitness, retail and more, providing customers with exclusive savings at Singapore’s most celebrated venues. The ENTERTAINER delivers up to SGD 250,000 in savings for customers in 2017, at spots such as Meat Smith, Jamie’s Italian, Open Door Policy, Bedrock Bar & Grill, Wave House, Spa Luna Sentosa, Forest Adventure and much more.  

A brand new digital product, Cheers Singapore 2017 (RRP 125 SGD), featuring hundreds of Buy One Get One Free offers exclusively redeemable on drinks at your favourite restaurants, bars and nightspots. Offers range from single beverages to bottles of wine / spirits / beers, double cocktails, pitchers and more. World-class venues include LongPlay, Gravity Bar (Carlton hotel), Mad Men Attic Bar and Sentosa’s Finest - Bob’s Bar, Museo and much more.

Based on 2016, ENTERTAINER members in Singapore will have used over 310,000 digital offers, with the average member saving over SGD 650.  The most recent update on the App is the introduction of ‘Smiles’, a virtual currency system which allows members to earn and spend rewards throughout the year. Rewards include offer top-ups, for when you’ve used all three at your favourite spots, extra Pings and more.

Right now ENTERTAINER Singapore 2017 is available for a special discount of SGD 30 off the regular price. On top of this great price, every purchase of Singapore 2017 includes Cheers Singapore 2017, absolutely free. This exceptional deal is available for a limited time only, directly from the ENTERTAINER.

With the purchase of any 2017 digital product, ENTERTAINER members will also enjoy exclusive access to ‘Hotels Worldwide’, which includes Buy One Night, Get One Free offers at over 500 hotels across the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Choose from hotels, resorts, hotel apartments, bed & breakfasts and lodges in over 30 popular destinations including Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, Dubai and more. Hotels Worldwide includes international hotel brands such as InterContinental, Marriott, Fairmont, Sheraton, Banyan Tree, Radisson, Shangri-La and Hyatt. Whether you are looking for a relaxing vacation or a travel adventure, Hotels Worldwide is your ticket to great savings.

“Our 2017 products deliver incredible value at the most extensive range of outlets available, giving our customers the opportunity to save money, go out more and spend quality time with friends and loved ones,” said Donna Benton, Founder and Chairman of the Entertainer. “The newest update to our world-class App offers more benefits and value than ever before, so there is truly no better time to be an Entertainer member.”

The ENTERTAINER App is available to download free on iOS or Android app stores. 

Don't be just contented with only your usual popcorn or hot dog at the movies. Go for the Golden Village Suntec City’s Grab & Gold Café!

The Grab & Gold Café offers take-away style foods that will satisfy every craving. You can now munch on scrumptious delights such as Churros, Waffle Fries and Karaage Chicken before the silver screen. Sweetening the deal, all tempting dishes from the café can even be served straight to your cinema hall!

Cut the wait and head on in for a fully gratuitous movie experience.

The Grab & Gold Café is located at Golden Village Suntec City and items on the menu can be enjoyed within cinema halls at Golden Village Suntec City, at the café, or as takeaway items.

For the full menu and pricing, please refer below. 

Party yourself away at The After 10 SupperClub, Wicked Spring Awakening, Mitzo ( Video )

Looking for a place to dine, socialize with friends and to wind down the pressure that was built up during your day job, try Mitzo at Grand Park Hotel Level 4. It is both restaurant and bar. The After 10 SupperClub, one of the monthly event which I attended this 30 April 2015 was just amazing.

As the name suggested, Supper after 10pm until late piercing through the midnight with delicious Cantonese cuisine dim sum to satisfy your midnight hunger. I remember pestering the friendly waitresses for more. Music remixes from DJ Anthony and DJ Giusseppe G and enjoyed the unplugged music by popular live band Jack & Rai. Forget about the day headaches and problems at work, you definitely need a break.

Waitresses serving plates of hot piping free flow dim sum and gourmet bites to keep your energy level in check. A welcome drink of one Veuve Clicquot rośe champagne. A surprise performance of a couple in a sexy Latin dance grace along the passageway of the restaurant forming a line of party guests to cheer their extraordinary performance. It was nothing short of spectacular.

With free flow food, a glass of champagne, a night with party friends,a live brand to entertain you, DJ spinning the music and unexpected dance performance, what more can you ask for a ticket of only $50 ++ per person.

It is definitely worth paying a visit to this first supperclub in Singapore. Gather your friends and have a night out at Mitzo. Remember to check their interesting promotion at Mitzo website at http://www.mitzo.sg/promotions.html

MITZO RESTAURANT & BAR

Level 4 Grand Park Orchard,

270 Orchard Road Singapore 238857

T +65 6603 8855    E rsvn@mitzo.sg

Operating Hours

Lunch: 12pm to 2.30pm

Dinner: 6.30pm to 10.30pm

Bar (Supper): 6.30pm to 12am last order

(Sun to Thurs)

6.30pm to 1am last order

(Fri, Sat, eve of Public Holidays and Public Holidays)

Here is my party video

Gelato World Tour Unveils Top 16 Finalists from Asia Pacific Region

GELATO WORLD TOUR 2.0

Announces Top 16 Asia Pacific Flavours Vying for

“WORLD’S BEST GELATO” Title

• Finalists from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines,

Thailand, Vietnam, 3 from Australia and 6 from Singapore

• 20 to 22 March 2015, Marina Bay Sands Singapore

Singapore, 4 March 2015 – The much-anticipated second edition of Gelato World Tour (GWT) will start in Singapore on March 20, making it Asia’s first Gelato Capital of the World. For three consecutive days, this extraordinary event at the Marina Bay Sands will flag off the “Formula One of Gelato” and also celebrate fifty years of the Singapore Republic in the coolest way.

Gelato World Tour, the first international travelling competition in search of the best flavours in the world, is directed by the prestigious Carpigiani Gelato University and Sigep, the most important exhibition in the world for the artisan production of gelato, pastry, confectionery and bakery products held in Rimini, Italy. Its mission is to spread the culture of Italian-style gelato, a fresh, artisan food product throughout the world. The main partners are IFI, international leader in the manufacturing of display cases for gelaterias and PreGel, the world’s largest producer of ingredients for gelato, pastry and coffee shops, official licensee of EXPO Milano 2015. Prodea Group is the operating partner and Felicitas Global Pte Ltd is the event’s local partner in Singapore. In its first edition, GWT toured seven gelato capitals in the world, namely Rome, Valencia, Melbourne, Dubai, Austin, Berlin and Rimini.

Visitors to the event will be delighted by the amazing flavours freshly created on the spot and presented by new and seasoned gelato artisans from the Asia Pacific region as they pit themselves against each other in the quest to win the prestigious “World’s Best Gelato” title. The top 16 gelato flavours of the Asia Pacific region* were picked by the Selection Jury presided by Pang Kok Keong, Chef and founder of Sugar Daddy Group, Yeoh Wee Teck, columnist with The New Paper, and renowned Luciana Polliotti, journalist and curator of the  historical Gelato Museum Carpigiani.

On 24 and 25 March 2015, the Carpigiani Gelato University will inaugurate a new Singapore programme in partnership with At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy, by offering special open day sessions. There are 40 places available, free admission is upon request. To register please write to info@gelatouniversity.com. At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy will become the first hub of the Carpigiani Gelato University in the Asia-Pacific region.

As another first for the Singapore leg, the tour will host an exclusive “Gelato with a Heart” dinner. At this first ever event in Asia Pacific gelato will take centrestage from appetizer to dessert. Created by well-known Chef Christopher Christie of Marina Bay Sands and Pastry Chef Pang Kok Keong, in collaboration with the local Italian instructor of the Carpigiani Gelato University, the menu will feature combinations of hot and cold, sweet and savoury, unique fusions of the East and West masterpieces. The dinner will include an auction where proceeds will be donated to beneficiaries of the Singapore President's Challenge 2015. Only a few special early bird promotion seats remain available (reservations can be made by calling 6224 6788 or via email at smita@felicitasglobal.com ).

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List of the Top 16 Flavours Vying for “WORLD’S BEST GELATO” Title

• Kochi Popz by Chronos Chan & Eunice Soon of Tom’s Palette, Singapore

• Caramel and Almond Crunch by Vanjimuthu Palaniswamy & Kavithamani Vanjimuthu of Boomerang, Coimbatore, India

• Coffee and Nuts with Sesame Brittle by Angsna Dhippayom of I - Kitchen Restaurant, Had Yai, Thailand

• Mango Ube Symphony by Zarah Zaragoza-Manikan of Bono Artisanal Gelato, Makati City, Manila, Philippines

• Roasted Walnut and Honey Crunch by David Lamprell, Michael & Brian O’Donnell of 48 Flavours, Adelaide, SA, Australia

• Burnt Butter with toffee almond brittle by Robbie Hill of Yamba Icecreamery, Yamba, NSW, Australia

• Chendol Merdeka by Marco Alfero of Alfero Artisan Gelato, Singapore

• Loving Date by Stefano Cadorin of +39 Gelato Bar, Singapore

• Singapore Sling by Charles Tan of FATCAT Ice Cream Bar, Singapore

• Croccante alla Fragola by Mirko Stortini of Gelato Italia, Hanoi, Vietnam

• Curcuma (or Temulawak) by Andre Soenjoto of de Boliva, Surabaya, Indonesia

• Good ‘Ol Days by Sharon Tay of Momolato, Singapore

• Beer with Ciambella by Harish Doneka of Pick Me Up Cafe, Singapore

• Vanilla of the East by Keewin & Seow Han Ong of Cielo Dolci, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

• Lemon Zest with Fig Marmalade & Dark Chocolate by Antonino Lo Iacono of Gelatony, Sydney, NSW, Australia

• From the Cradle to the Grave by Steve & Chrissie Powell of Vostrogusto Gelato, Wellington, New Zealand

Highlights of the 3-Day Event

The GWT Village is located at Exhibition Hall D, Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre. Entry is FREE for all visitors. The programme will include (on a firstcome-first-served basis):

• Mini Courses for adults and children by the gelato chefs of Carpigiani Gelato University on “What is Gelato?”. Participants will also be the first to hear more details about the 4-week program that teaches participants on how they can become successful gelato entrepreneurs.

• How to open a gelato shop? Educational workshops by Academia IFI

• Tonda Challenge by IFI @ PreGel tent

• Discover the secrets of gelato “Always FrescoTM” with PreGel

• Live cooking demonstration by Chef Dave Pynt, Burnt Ends, Singapore

Visitors will be invited to vote for their favourite flavour from the top 16 finalists with a Gelato Ticket, which can be purchased at the INFO POINT located in the Gelato World Tour Village. Each ticket is priced at SGD12 for 8 tasting portions in cones of 40grams each Visitors can participate in the Taste & Win draw where they stand to win fantastic prizes. The votes of the visitors and GWT’s Technical Jury will determine the top three flavours to represent the Asia Pacific region at the Grand Finale of the Gelato World Tour 2.0 to be held in Rimini, Italy in 2017.

To follow the stages of Gelato World Tour: www.gelatoworldtour.com. 

An Interview with Andrew Johnson on his new cookbook "AJ's Food Roots"

I plunged into the chapter “My Story so far”. Yes, I was eager to know the story behind Andrew Johnson food journey in his new cookbook “AJ’s Food Roots”. Andrew was affectionately known as AJ for short by his friends and family. It surprises me to know that he was a chef. All this while, I only knew him as someone involved in the body-building arena.

As I read and turned the pages, I can feel his passion for food. Well, he started young at the age of 5. To be honest, I am not too sure what I was doing when I was 5. Most probably I was tearing and destroying my toys. His deep understanding of spices, herbs and roots helped him to create new recipes and improve old recipes with a little twist. Some of the recipes were from his mum, dad and auntie.

As I read on, interestingly, his first job was a local fisherman helper and was paid 5 ringgit. Fast forward, he went to a culinary school, met an accident and had broken toes, cracked ribs. He recovered and came to Singapore at the age of 20. He started working in Raffles Hotel. With his burning passion of food, he travelled to Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. As his mum is Sri-Lankan descent, naturally he felt quite at home in Sri Lanka.

I appreciate his next chapter “A Few Tricks”. I was always struggling with crab preparation. That put me off from cooking any crab dishes. One of the tricks in this chapter does help me to understand better on crab preparation.

The rest of the chapters were broken down into Beef, Chicken, Lamb & Mutton, Pork and Seafood. With a short background story on each of the recipe, it makes cooking more enjoyable and recipe easier to follow.

I was kind of carried away by his stories but it was the recipes that really make the differences in the cooked dishes. If you want to read more about his stories and his recipes, do grab one today at your nearest bookstores.

Here is a short interview I did with AJ. 

More photos can be found at : AJ's Food Roots Album

For more information and updates on AJ, the chef, you may want to follow him at his facebook page at :  

Cooking with AJ

It’s Halloween Time at the Singapore Turf Club

“Anyone saw my liver ?  I need that for the photo shoot.”. The party was nothing short of fun, doing what you usually do not do during the normal days. Thanks to Jessie and Jasmine from the Singapore Turf Club for inviting me to this awesome Halloween party. It was my first time getting myself “ugly” and “bloody”. Together with a group of friends, we became the famous Adams’ family.

Somehow, this event had brought out my photographer instinct into action. I was getting all sorts of weird ideas across to friends to pose as frightening blood thirsty zombies. It does help if you watch more of those living dead theme movies.

When I was young, I used to watch Dracula movies. Zombies were not available back then. If you have live in this world long enough, the famous Dracula actor Christopher Lee (not an Asian actor) would have been a familiar face for horror movie. As a young boy, it was terrifying to stay and watch the whole show. I would peek between the front row seats. Unfortunately, back then, there were no movie classifications and restrictions, our young tiny hearts were not protected. After watching the movie, Count Dracula never failed to visit me in my dreams. He stayed for a few nights before he got tired of haunting me.

At the party, even the food and pastries have strong Halloween theme. Some of the dishes’ names include Bloody Mary, Dirty Rice. A photo booth with proper studio lighting was set up at the party. Some of my friends, kept the photographer very busy. They left the party with lots of name card size photos. Two eager Halloween make-up artists were there to “beautify” our flat faces. Once in a while, our painted face appear on the LED screen ( they did not provide mirror at the make-up corner).  We were being paparazzi by an eagle-eyed photographer who roamed around and watching over us.

Almost at the end of the party, we marched down to the horse racing area with our new Halloween looks. Uncle and aunties were staring at us. Race horses didn’t like our faces.  Jockey may think that we don’t belong here. So what should we do, head for the washroom at the end of the party.

It was indeed an enjoyable party. Singapore Turf Club, please invite me again for the next Halloween.

More photos can be found at : Seed Image - Halloween Time at the Singapore Turf Club

Oishii Japan 2014

Oishii Japan food trade fair first started in 2012. This is the third year in the running and it is my first time attending this event. With 266 exhibitors from 32 Japanese prefectures occupying an area of 6000 square metres, it is definitely growing in number of participants and F&B demand for this event. It serves as a bridge for F&B businesses between Japan and ASEAN.

This year, participating companies brought in strawberries from Tochigi which are well known for its sweetness and large size. Tochigi is also known as “Strawberry Kingdom” in Japan.

The atmosphere make me feel like I am attending an event in Japan. 

Mr. Masanao Nishida, Director of Oishii Japan 2014

 Our Singapore Tourism Board representative giving a speech during the opening ceremony.

 Breaking of Sake or the ancient Japanese sake ceremony called "Kagami Biraki

The Toast of Sake

Shy Japanese girl refuse a photo shot from me. A Japanese elderly man said something and she finally agree to pose for the photo. 

Other valuable products such as Olive beef from Sanuki where the cows were fed with olive resulted in award winning wagyu of superior quality.

From Kagoshima, shōchū (焼酎?) is a Japanese distilled beverage. The shōchū is put through a 30-day fermentation stage, accompanied by classical music Beethoven’ 9^th symphony played through a girdle of speakers wrapped around each tank. The producers believe the rhythmic vibrations it help to stimulate yeast activity during the production.

I have personally visited a Nigata booth at the fair where they grew premium rice. The unique thing about this that they release young carps into the wet padi field. The 7 colours carps help to keep the padi field healthy by eating away those pests. Once the padi field is ready for harvesting, the carps are also ready for harvesting. Through selection, better grade carps were sold while the rest of the carps were given away. It is truly a brilliant way of organic farming.

This year, MAFF ( The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan ) have planned a series of demonstrations and talks to educate event visitors on Japanese food ingredients and also invited chef to dish out nice food. I have attended Chef Stephan Zoisl cooking demo. We get to taste what he cooked. It was amazing.

 Chef Stephan cooking demonstration

 Chef Stephan's  Takasago - Kouji Amazake & Ponzu Ice Cream

Chef Stephan's Yellowtail & Miso

In addition, J-Sweets Collection is introduced this year which include desserts, confectionary etc. Also, the return of J-Food tech which showcase latest F&B equipment and technology for  food processing. Besides all these, visitors will be able to visit Hall 404, J-Food Street ( Japanese small bits, snacks and beverages ).

I get to try out interesting food such as the poisonous Puffer fish which is very popular in Japan and best quality beef. In my opinion, if you love food, you will enjoy yourself. Somehow, I  felt that you are attending an event in Japan. And that’s a nice feeling. 

Puffer fish

 Snowy Strawberry desserts

 Friendly Japanese ladies in Kimono

 Huge range of quality seafood

 Famous Hello Kitty

 The octopus is first steamed and boiled to retain it's flavour. The octopus come either come from Africa or Japan.

 Famous Sake brand

 Hello Kitty

 Tokachi button mushrooms. They are delicious. Just can't get enough of them.

Sweet young Japanese girl who stay in Singapore

If you are interested to visit this event, here are the information.

Website : www.oishii-world.com

Location : Suntec Singapore, Halls 404-406, 1 Raffles Boulevard, Suntec City, Singapore 039593

Trade : 16 and 17 Oct 2014, 10am to 5.30pm daily

Public : 18 Oct 2014, 11am to 5pm

Public : $4 per person, Admission is free for children 12 years and below.

All photos are copyright of Derrick See ( Seed Image ).

More photos can be found at : https://www.flickr.com/photos/seedimage/sets/72157646478808453/