Ratatouille

ratatouille

[ra-tuh-TOO-ee; ra-tuh-TWEE] A popular dish from the French region of Provence that combines eggplant, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, zucchini, garlic and herbs-all simmered in olive oil. The vegetables can vary according to the cook. They can be cooked together, or cooked separately and then combined and heated briefly together. Ratatouille can be served hot, cold or at room temperature, either as a side dish or as an appetizer with bread or crackers.

- Food Lover's Companion

Also known as Pixar's story abt a rat who loves cooking.
I caught it yesterday ALONE coz most of my frenz I asked watched it already so I decided to catch it before it ends its screening here in Singapore. I have been waiting for this movie for ages. Goodness knows why the the film distributors decided to screen this movie so late in Singapore (US and Australia already ended its run. In July that is.)

However, I was quite disappointed when I caught it. It was nice ya, the animation was great (the water and the buildings looked so real) but to me, it lacked the usual Brad Bird and Pixar magic. Brad Bird did 'The Iron Giant' and 'The Incredibles'.
Pixar had films like Finding Nemo & Monsters Inc. as precedents hence I expected much more from this film.

Obviously, the visuals were fantastic, which Pixar is famous for, but the story lacked the cleverness & humor of previous Pixar movies, and the characters were simply not endearing enough. I was expecting lots of laughs and touching moments but I had little laughs and was not touched. I was actually infuriated with the bumbling useless Linguini. Remy the rat however, did alright.
The voice characterisations were good, there were some good jokes, but they were much too few and far between to keep things afloat. I found it a little slow, and the plot and characters were rather predictable. It's chatty at times, and the younger kids in the cinema became restless fairly frequently, especially in the latter half of the movie.

Maybe it's just me: 2 hours of even the best-quality animation gets old after a while.

I understand Pixar wants to distance themselves from the competition, and they do. But 111 minutes is pretty long for what basically is an extended cartoon for kids. They could have edited down and made a tighter, more enjoyable movie. This movie was nowhere near the genius of Nemo and Monsters.

What I did like most besides the animation was the mantra in the movie - "Anyone can cook". Food, glorious food. I love food; cooking, eating. The movie did inspire me to experiment more with cooking and get back to cooking. I have not cooked much since I came back from Australia and after this movie, I am motivated to get back to cooking!



So watch out friends! Dun say I din warn u... Prepare your antacids and charcoal pills coz Eu-Jzin is back in the kitchen!

How to Lose Weight: A Word from A Nutritionist - Part One

You can enjoy eating!

Some of you may not know this but I am a nutritionist (and food scientist) by training.

I also have some experience writing for the media as well (Men's Health Singapore 2003-2004) and also contributed to magazines like FEMALE magazine. (<-to add some credibility! shameless plug i know...)

Many have asked me abt nutrition questions, however the most popular questions tend to be "eh...how to lose weight ah?" "Wat to eat to lose weight huh?"

No surprises there actually, as most people these days (due to media or otherwise) tend to be rather focussed on how they look.

SO I decided to post this entry calling it 'How to Eat Healthy' (rather then call it "Eat what to lose weight" haha...sorri to deceive u but do read on...)

How to Eat Healthy

(PLEASE note that if u have other medical conditions e.g. renal disease, and u like to lose weight, please see a doctor or a dietitian, they are qualified trained health professionals who studied and trained for years to deal with medical/health conditions!)

FIRSTLY, let's be perfectly clear about this - if any of those weight loss products or plans actually worked - no one would be overweight anymore. And guess wat? It seems the obesity rate is higher then before, yes, despite the plethora of so-called weight loss techniques available today!

Yes - this includes Atkins, Weight Watchers, South Beach, Jean Yip, Mariefrance, all of them!
NO matter what anyone promises you, diets do not work! (remember my blog abt the comic strip Slimderella?)

The old physics still hold - Energy in > Energy out = Weight loss (erm, unless u are sick or your family genes are working against you!)

The true measure of permanent weight loss is whether or not it's still off two years later. If you've ever lost weight on a plan, product or program and are still looking for weight loss options right now, then something didn't work. It's not realli your fault - but if you try to do it again, and again... well, how long until you know better? Stop Dieting! It won't work!

True that some of the programs may have caused some weight loss (mostly water!) BUT the question IS - Is this sustainable long term? Is this healthy in the long run? Can I be not eating my fave Nasi Lemak for the rest of my entire life? Can I not eat more rice ever?! NO MORE Bak Choy Mee?! Unfathomable! Horrors! Unthinkable! IT has to suit your lifestyle somehow to be a lifestyle change

Eating healthy and being healthy is not a fad BUT rather a LIFESTYLE

End of Part One...stay tune fer Part Two

Technorati Tags: nutrition, eating, weight loss, health

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Makan Review - Miss Clarity

I went to this place after the IT Show and I'd like to recommend this cafe.

It's Miss Clarity @Purvis StFirstly, the place...it's got a cutesy setup (and I later learned that it was opened by a guy!)
Apparently, Miss Clarity was named after the owner's niece. It had a nice, cozy ambience, and it feels quite homey.

The food is reasonably priced and the portions are HUGE-mongous! Try their chicken dishes...is nice! The menu has a good variety and the service is pretty good. My fren was actually greeted by his name! Wow...but too bad no discount...drats!

Overall score: B+!