MrUpUpUp's Blog

Mrupupup felt happy to spot the Blue Wing Pitta Bird in the mangrove area of Lower Pierce Reservoir in Singapore. Think it was the current dry spell in Singapore that allowed Mrupupup to see this beautiful bird.  Blue Wing Pitta Bird is a rare sight in Singapore. Well, you might have notice the circle black background framing the bird picture. The reason was some person came along with a scope which allowed one to see and take good pictures from afar. The scope was very useful on this day. It was a good day and feeling blessed by Mother Nature.

Mrupupup was at the Singapore Jazz Festival 2014 held at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel Main Event area - March 2014. The event was great and the jazz music was smooth flowing. Loved the jazz music especially from Gregory Porter and his band. Mr Sato the saxophonist for Gregory Porter's jazz band earn more claps than Gregory Porter himself. Singapore Jazz Festival 2014 was the best with the backdrop of the beautiful city skyline, flow of drinks, people chilling to the music and the jazz was absolutely world class. Mrupupup felt like he was in some jazz bar in New York when Gregory Porter sang about Harlem. Great music and great jazz. Singapore music scene is going to be one of the best in Asia. Bring back the soul music to Singapore. Oh yeah !        

I Light 2014 Singapore will be held at the Marina Bay Waterfront area. There will be various interesting light installations and some are interactive. For example, like a 'mimosa' plant type of lighting which interacts upon contact. The organisers were briefing us today that I Light will be a very special light installation festival and the designers would come from many countries. Mrupupup is looking forward to the light installation from Chile - glowing and will be beautiful to remember lives lost in an earthquake. Mrupupup has been to the Sydney Light Festival, Kobe luminaire and Osaka Light Festival, but Singapore will be home ground for Mrupupup. Looking forward to the I Light Marina Bay! I Light Marina Bay - 7 to 30 March 2014 - Marina Bay Waterfront Area Singapore - Free Admission - 7.30pm to 11pm.                

Nine Thirty (former Loola's) by Awfully Chocolate at the Esplanade Mall (#02-14) has revamped to be a cool place to eat Western food and of course their hot chocolate. The new menu options looks good but a bit on the high side in terms of price. The service was good though! Mrupupup started with the mushroom soup which was delicious and creamy. Best part was to dip the toasted bread into the soup - nice. Next Mrupupup tried the bread type of food with an egg and baked ham pieces on top with sides like chips, olives and onions. Wow, really filling! Really an 'all day breakfast' type of food. The bread was toasted and such a huge piece!   Mrupupup also tried their fish and chips which was yummy but oily. Next item was their pancakes which looked like 'Macdonald's' pancakes. Pancake was fluffy soft and bit too sweet with the syrup. Mrupupup also had a bit of honey baked ham with a huge baked apple. Pretty well done ...

The Singapore Biennale 2013 will end soon by 16 February 2014. On 15 and 16 Feb 2014, the entrance is free to all art exhibitions of the Singapore Biennale 2013. Mrupupup really enjoyed the arts installations of the Singapore Biennale. Thanks to sponsor for the free ticket ($10 per entrance). Mrupupup wondered around the arts installations found at the Singapore Art Museum and the nearby 8Q @ SAM museum (Waterloo Street).  If you happen to go to see the Singapore Biennale and don't have much time to go to all the exhibits, go straight to Mrupupup's favourite of Japanese dancing animation on the third storey of Singapore Arts Museum. Mrupupup thought that this animation from Japan's teamLab with haunting music was the best arts installation for the Singapore Biennale. Go find "Peace can be realised even without order" - really good arts installation that was an intrigue to the senses and found a lasting imprint on Mrupupup's brain. Ok, enjoy the res...

Have you been to the newly opened Jamie Oliver's restaurant in Vivocity Singapore? Well, Mrupupup went to Jamie Oliver's restaurant. Jamie Oliver is one famous British chef and he opened a restaurant bearing his name to serve up Italian and healthy range of food. If you want 'branded' type of food, do be prepare to pay for each dish. Most of the dishes are Italian and Mediterranean. Mrupupup tried various dishes from Jamie's. If you want to go to Jamie's, take some time to wait for about 45mins during peak periods. People just go to Jamie's to hang out and have a good time. Jamie's Italian Restaurant  - 1 Harbourfront Walk, Vivocity #01- 165, Singapore. Need to pay about $5 for bread.   Lobster pasta - nice but expensive about $20 Got a strong seafood prawn taste   Walnut salad- unique and costs $9 An acquired taste for walnut and some people might not fancy it   Lots of walnuts   Better dish for the evening - smaller ...

Mrupupup wishes all Chinese readers and those who celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year in the world - like Hong Kong, Brunei, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Happy Lunar New Year and best wishes from the funny Minions (got this funny greetings from the web). Enjoy  the funny clip below and have a good Horse Year ahead. For non-Mandarin speaking readers : Horse is the zodiac animal for the 2014 Chinese Lunar New Year.