In a recent effort to placate me, Jade made the call to Buko Nero. While he balked at a very bad six letter word – fusion, he made the attempt to appease me (or so he says) and I suppose, that’s all that matters.

Amuse Bouche

Buffalo Mozzerella with Balsamic Vinaigrette Reduction

Starter

Spanish Melon & Mescuni Salad with Lime Dressing

Soup

Cream of Corn & Sea Scallops

Palate Cleanser

White Peach Sherbet

Main Course

Lamb Chops

Dessert

Soft Milk Chocolate Cake with Caramel Coulis

With Buko Nero’s strict “No Photography” policy, I went with a single aim in mind – Enjoy. Oh and enjoy I did, every dish had a distinct layer and texture. There was not a dish that did not send big signals of “yummy” down my spine. The finale was the dessert, and it took the cake. It was light yet creamy, sweet but not cloyingly so. Perfect.

We made our way to Cafe Le Claire where the service is reliably bad but the sheesha (hookah) is affordable and conversation always runs easy. Vanilla is my new found favourite though, I wish that they had a double version of it because a single shot was too light for my usual “double apple” lungs.

Buko Nero

126 Tanjong Pagar Road
Singapore 088534
Tel: 6324 6225

Café Le Caire
39 Arab Street
Singapore 199738
Tel: 6292 0979

Ryan Reynolds takes on the role of William Hayes, a 30-something Manhattan dad in the midst of a divorce. The story begins with his precocious 10-year old daughter, Maya (Abigail Breslin) questioning him about his life before he got married and before he had her.

Reluctantly, he recounts his past romances with three different women with the rule being “no details of names, and he has the right to change some details of the history as he so wishes”. Like all dads do, Will attempts to re-tell a “G” rated version to no avail of course. Patiently, Maya sits through her dad’s romantic maze of events and begins to understand that love is not as simple as it seems. Will the story have a happy ending?

Made by the directors of “Notting Hill” and “Love Actually”, it follows the predictable tale of storytelling. Overall, it was an enjoyable movie though, it must be neccessary to know that it is still a chick flick for all intents and purposes. Who needs a good story when you have the goofyness that is Ryan Reynolds? I still prefer him in 2 guys, a girl and a pizza place.

After having a gorgonzola appetizer at Buko Nero, I was lusting after gorgonzola anything much to the protest of my inlactose intolerant belly. Six is the number of pills I have to consume to ensure that I don’t suffer from an erm, upset stomach after having cheese.

I traipsed down to La Fromagerie, which is part of the Saint Julien group. Being a relative newbie to cheese, I asked for well.. gorgonzola and was handed Gongonzola Piccante Extra! That sounds mucho cheeso to me. The cheese whiz (pun intended) offered a taste test which was moot since I was cheese desperate.

$10 later, I bought enough to make at least 8 servings of the appetizer that I had at BN.

Perfect. I made the crostini by brushing it with an extra virgin olive oil and crushed garlic blend. Toasted it for a bit, and cut a slice of heaven.

Catching glimpse of the much touted iPhone recently, I figured that it would quite a while before I would be part of the Joneses for this trend.

To my surprise, my dearest MOO decided to give me an early christmas present. So, I am a new owner of a hacked-in-asia iPhone.

On to the review, I will begin with SIM contacts because, you are nothing without the people who bear with all the yammering that you do.

SIM Contacts - Wow, there is not a more difficult way to upgrade to the iPhone. It might even be a deterrance to some (myself included). For my 200 over contacts, I had to manually imput the information into my email programme (outlook) and sync the iPhone to ensure that it’s all uploaded. Once the hard work is done, it is easy to do as one wills. Want to delete idiotic friend who stood you up? Sync up phone and delete said friend with “del” function and update to Outlook. Sync phone and we’re done. No more idiotic friend. Need to key in multiple contact info from email to direct numbers etc – Just do it on your outlook..better yet if it was there already and sync. Two words – SYNC baby!

Sizewise – As a SE phone owner, I am used to phones that aren’t terribly slick but zooms past the competition in terms of functionality. The iPhone is not a phone for the seasoned clubber who carries nothing but a tiny clutch.

Keyboard - With my accounts servicing background, I should be accustomed to the ways of the crackberry. So, the keyboard does not come as something new. Though, the iPhone keyboard differs slightly in its method of predictive text. Normally, suggestions are given for the keystokes keyed in. The iPhone predicts keystrokes that are typed in error.

Operating System - Being an apple product, everything has a charm. Taking a picture, deleting an email. Perhaps, I am used to SE’s straight forward method of marking mails that I don’t want and proceeding with a mass delete. I have yet to learn a way to mass delete mails in the iPhone. Aside that, the slickness has its pros and cons. So, I say if you own an apple then just go with the flow. That’s the only way to enjoy the product. After all, most Apple users don’t just carry around a white macbook just because they believe they own a superior product to anything Windows. Most of all, there’s a sense of hoity toityness that comes with owning anything Apple and believe me, Steve knows it!

Ringtones - Similar to the iPod, iPhone users are not able to just download mp3s at will and use them as ringtones. For the techno dodos, you will be left with no choice but to purchase them online which will prove to be a challenge for Asia /Euro iPhone owners since we are all using hacked versions. The alternative is to use a multi-step method to change the file definition and proceed to upload. (And no, I’m not telling you how. Find out yourself)

Internet Capabilities – It was a breeze to hitch onto my wireless network at home. The iPhone did a quick scan and I was connected. Easy as pie. Web browsing on Safari is child’s play too. The zooming function is a mere finger tap away.

Overall, it takes abit to learn the ways of an Apple and it was easier for me because I still use Apple on a regular basis with work. Once, you’ve perfected your ways..the love affair will begin. Oh and I love that when my girlfriends call me, it rings to “Will.I.Am’s I Got It From My Mama“