蘑菇濃湯 (Cream of Mushroom Soup) Children Song (Chinese)

 

The following super catchy Chinese children song is my youngest son's favorite song now! I love it too!

 

蘑菇濃湯 (Cream of Mushroom Soup) - Original Version

 

《 ✐  歌詞 Lyrics 》
 

蘑菇蘑菇  躲在市場的角落
蘑菇蘑菇  讓我把你帶回家
蘑菇蘑菇  放進我的牛奶鍋
蘑菇蘑菇  做成一碗湯
要不要再加一點胡椒
還可以再加一點香草
然後再用心地把它攪一攪啊
拿起我的湯匙我要咕嚕咕嚕咕嚕～～～吃掉！
蘑菇蘑菇  泡在我的牛奶鍋
蘑菇蘑菇  旁邊坐著紅蘿蔔
蘑菇蘑菇  我把玩具收一收
蘑菇蘑菇  端出一碗湯
要不要再加一點胡椒
還可以再加一點香草
然後再用心地把它攪一攪啊
拿起我的湯匙我要咕嚕咕嚕咕嚕～～～
全部吃掉！

MOGU MOGU, hiding in the corner of the mart,
MOGU MOGU, come, let me take you home,
MOGU MOGU, into my lil' milk pot you go,
MOGU MOGU, making a bowl of soup.
Should I add a little bit more pepper?
Maybe a touch more parsley?
With love and care, I'll give it a stir,
Now I'll pick up my spoon and let's slurp, slurp, slurp – slurp up!
MOGU MOGU, soaking in my lil’ milk pot,
MOGU MOGU, sitting next to a carrot,
MOGU MOGU, let me tidy up my toys,
MOGU MOGU, serving a bowl of soup.
Should I add a little bit more pepper?
Maybe a touch more parsley?
With love and care, I'll give it a stir,
Now I'll pick up my spoon and let’s slurp, slurp, slurp – slurp it all up!

蘑菇濃湯 (Cream of Mushroom Soup) - Remix Version

 

《 ✐  歌詞 Lyrics 》

蘑菇蘑菇  
蘑菇蘑菇  躲在市場的角落
蘑菇蘑菇  讓我把你帶回家
蘑菇蘑菇  放進我的牛奶鍋
蘑菇蘑菇  做成一碗湯
要不要再加一點胡椒
還可以再加一點香草
然後再用心地把它攪一攪啊
拿起我的湯匙我要咕嚕咕嚕咕嚕
全部吃掉！吃吃吃掉！吃吃吃掉！吃吃吃掉！吃掉吃掉！
蘑菇蘑菇  泡在我的牛奶鍋
蘑菇蘑菇  旁邊坐著紅蘿蔔
蘑菇蘑菇  我把玩具收一收
蘑菇蘑菇  端出一碗湯
要不要再加一點胡椒
還可以再加一點香草
然後再用心地把它攪一攪啊
拿起我的湯匙我要咕嚕咕嚕咕嚕～～～
全部吃掉！

吃吃吃掉！吃吃吃掉！吃吃吃掉！吃掉吃掉吃掉！
吃吃吃掉！吃吃吃掉！吃吃吃掉！吃掉吃掉！
吃吃吃掉！吃吃吃掉！吃吃吃掉！吃掉吃掉！
吃吃吃掉！吃吃吃掉！吃吃吃掉！

MOGU MOGU  
MOGU MOGU, hiding in the corner of the mart,
MOGU MOGU, come, let me take you home,
MOGU MOGU, into my lil' milk pot you go,
MOGU MOGU, making a bowl of soup.
Should I add a little bit more pepper?
Maybe a touch more parsley?
With love and care, I'll give it a stir,
Now I'll pick up my spoon and let's slurp, slurp, slurp – slurp it all up!
Slurp slurp slurp up! slurp slurp slurp up! slurp slurp slurp up! slurp up slurp up!
MOGU MOGU, soaking in my lil’ milk pot,
MOGU MOGU, sitting next to a carrot,
MOGU MOGU, let me tidy up my toys,
MOGU MOGU, serving a bowl of soup.
Should I add a little bit more pepper?
Maybe a touch more parsley?
With love and care, I'll give it a stir,
Now I'll pick up my spoon and let’s slurp, slurp, slurp – slurp it all up!
Slurp slurp slurp up! slurp slurp slurp up! slurp slurp slurp up! slurp up slurp up slurp up!
Slurp slurp slurp up! slurp slurp slurp up! slurp slurp slurp up! slurp up slurp up!
Slurp slurp slurp up! slurp slurp slurp up! slurp slurp slurp up! slurp up slurp up!
Slurp slurp slurp up! slurp slurp slurp up! slurp slurp slurp up!

《 ✎  製作 Credits 》

音樂製作 Music Production：#PlayBIGMusic
詞曲 Songwriter：Lydia Wangwang
演唱 Vocals：PlayBigKids
動畫製作 Animation Production：混合編碼 MixCode Studio
英文翻譯 English Translation： Cheryl Lee
詞曲原創版權 Original Publisher：小啼大作兒童音樂社有限公司 #PlayBIGMusic
詞曲版權代理 Sub Publisher：小啼大作兒童音樂社有限公司 #PlayBIGMusic

0

Chicken thigh porridge - rice cooker version

The rice cooker is the most fundamental and versatile kitchen appliance in my house. I can basically cook anything in it. I have cooked soups, many times. Two Sundays ago, I tried cooking porridge. My next plan is to use it as a steamer for my long awaited steamed cupcakes. Muahahaha!

Okay, now let's talk about my chicken thigh porridge - rice cooker version.

Ingredients:

Four handfuls of rice grains

Two chicken thighs, leave skin on

One medium red onion, sliced

Four pips of garlic, crushed

8-10 slices of ginger

A handful of spring onions, use the white ends

Salt and pepper
One sachet of chicken stock powder

How to:

Wash rice, add water, and turn on the rice cooker's power. I add in an extra cup of water. Make sure the switch is turned to "Cooking", not "Keep Warm".

Rub salt and pepper on chicken thighs and leave aside on for about 15 minutes.

Then, put the chicken thighs and the rest of the ingredients into the rice cooker, close the lid, and wait until the switch pops to "Keep Warm". Keep the lid closed for another half and hour.

 

Done and ready to serve!

You can garnish with chopped spring onions if you like. :)

0

Green papaya soup with ikan tenggiri (mackerel)

This is the third time I cook green papaya soup. Finally I manage to get a really GREEN, green papaya from TTDI wet market. I bought the previous two "green" papayas from a fruit seller. The papayas have orange-colored flesh instead of the supposed white flesh. This time I buy the green papaya from a vegetable seller instead.

Previous soups:

Green papaya soup with salmon head, red dates, and snow fungus
Green papaya soup with anchovies and red dates

Ingredients: A small green papaya (chopped into cubes), a handful of dried red dates (soaked for 15 minutes), a few slices of ginger, 1 block of ikan tenggiri (mackerel)

I put all ingredients into a liter of water and cook in the slow cooker for about two hours.

Ready to serve. Here's to more milk!

0

Cooking white radish with beef soup in thermal cooker

I bought a 5.5L thermal cooker, with the hope that on days I'm really busy, I will be able to cook soup and stew easily and with much less hassle. I have a slow cooker too but sometimes, I don't have time to wait at least 2 hours for my soup to be ready.

Meals will be ready in 3 simple steps: 

1) Put ingredients into the inner pot.

2) Cover and simmer ingredients for about 10 to 20 minutes.

3) Place the inner pot inside the thermal cooker and close the lid.

So, I cook my first soup - white radish with beef soup - with the thermal cooker by following the steps.

First, I put lean beef chunks, chopped white radish, ginger slices, and a liter of water into the inner pot. Then, I cover the pot and simmer for about 20 minutes over the stove. Finally, I put the inner pot inside the thermal cooker and close the lid.

After about 30 minutes or so, the soup is ready to be served!

2

My MIL's Chinese New Year Lap-Lap & Bubur Chacha

 

Lap-Lap means biji-biji, literally. It means all ingredients in this dish are chopped / cubed / diced. I love this dish so much that I'm looking forward to it every Chinese New Year eve.

 

Ingredients: Long beans (chopped into small cubes), chicken liver (cut into small pieces), water chestnut (peeled and cubed), green peas (drained).

Stir fry everything together starting with long beans, followed by chicken liver, water chestnut, and finally green peas. Add salt to taste.

 

Before eating, add groundnuts. Then, scoop a spoonful of lap-lap onto fresh lettuce leaves, wrap and eat! Blogged about lap-lap in 2011.

 

Bubur Chacha, my latest milk booster.

 

Ingredients: Sago (cooked till transparent), sweet potatoes (both orange and purple variants, skinned, cubed, and steamed), yam (skinned, cubed, and steamed), tapioca blobs (green and red, cooked till transparent), coconut milk.

 

The sweet potatoes and yam are steamed so that they don't disintegrate from boiling. The hardest part is cooking the sago until all tiny balls turn transparent. Use a non-stick pan and keep stirring to avoid clumping. Same goes to the tapioca blobs.

 

Boil water, then add sugar. Then, add in sweet potatoes, yam, sago, and tapioca blobs. Coconut milk goes in last. Turn off fire when boiling has started. This is to prevent pecah minyak (forming of oil layer from coconut milk).

1

Preparing for my first Chinese New Year with Baby Luke

Photo source

 

Time flies. Baby Luke is already five months plus and this little rock of mine is all cute and cuddly and oh-so-handsome!

 

The Year of the Horse is coming in one-and-a-half weeks' time and it'll be Luke's very first Chinese New Year. It'll also be my very first Chinese New Year as a mom. I can't wait to "parade" him around, expecting lots of ooohs-and-aaahs and of course, RED PACKETS from everybody we meet. :P

 

His little outfit is ready. It's red and shiny. He'll look super duper adorable! Gotta get ready to snap lotsa photos.

 

But finding my outfit is a problem this year. Looking back at my outfit on the first day of CNY 2011-2013:

They looked normal; expected color - red. Hmmm. Now that I've a new status as a mother, I wanna try something different. Yummy mummy wannabe!

 

Shopping for clothes at malls is a tug-of-war with time. Plus, I don't really have the mood to shop. It's tiring having to browse for outfits that I really like, trying them out one by one, and finding the right size. With a baby in tow, spending time to find THE outfit is really difficult.

 

So, shopping online is the best! Coincidentally, I've been receiving quite a number of emails/newsletters from different online boutiques. One that catches my attention is Zalora's Chinese New Year collection.

 

I'm interested in the Melinda Looi X Amber Chia's collection, especially this particular modern Qipao with Scalloped Sleeves and Jacquard Piping. There are three colors – red, dark pink, and blue.

 

Okay, excuse me as I log in and buy the blue qipao.

0

Green papaya soup with salmon head, red dates, and snow fungus

Green papaya soup is a popular breastmilk supply booster. I cooked green papaya soup with anchovies and red dates when I was down with flu last week.

This week I cook green papaya soup with salmon head, red dates, and snow fungus. I have gotten three salmon heads for RM10 from TTDI wet market. To cook this soup with a medium green papaya, I use one-and-a-half salmon heads.

First of all, I pan-fry the salmon fish heads on both sides with some olive oil and ginger slices until the heads turn light brown. According to this recipe, pan-frying the salmon heads removes fishy smell, keeps the fish intact during long cooking, and gives that lovely white stock.

Next, bring 1.5-2 liters of water to boil. Add in the pan-fried fish heads, ginger slices, and the rest of the ingredients (snow fungus, red dates, papayas). Bring to boil over high heat for about 15 minutes. Then, let it simmer over low heat for about an hour or so.

Ready to be served hot. :)

0

Green papaya soup with anchovies and red dates

Green papaya soup with anchovies and red dates

It's the flu season. I'm quite desperate to increase my milk supply back to its normal volume because being sick causes my supply to drop precariously. Increasing fluid intake is almost a sure-fire way. Most mothers swear by green papaya soup. So, I cook a pot.

I cook my green papaya soup with anchovies and red dates. The green papaya flesh looks a bit too orangey but it's okay according to some mothers. Maybe I'll find a really green, green papaya (green flesh) next round. Also, it's better to cook with ikan kurau bones. Yup, will do so next round.

Another good milk booster is red dates lactating tea.

On a side note:

To all mama. Whether you are a full-time working mom, part-time working mom, stay-at-home mom, exclusive pumping mom, exclusive breastfeeding mom, partial breastfeeding mom, regardless of the condition of your breastfeeding journey, I just want to say, WE ARE AWESOME!

Gambateh!!!

0

Hubby cooks red dates lactating tea

Ingredients:

A handful of seedless Chinese dried red dates, a handful of dried longan, a handful of lotus seeds, a chunk of dried white fungus, sugar, water

Cook the lotus seeds for 20 minutes in half a liter of water. Then, dump the rest of the ingredients in. Add sugar to taste before switching off heat. Serve warm. 

This red dates lactating tea is known to boost breast milk supply. It's a nice add-on to my daily intake of fluid, which is mainly plain water, oat milk, soy drink, and full cream milk.

With white fungus

Without white fungus

0

Movie: Pacific Rim (2013) in 3D

To fight monsters we created monsters

Pacific Rim (2013) is AWESOME!

No worries, no spoilers at all.

You just need to remember two things: massive robots called Jaeger (German for "Hunter") and giant monsters called Kaiju from a portal between dimensions opened at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Kaiju (Japanese for "strange beast") means giant monsters from Japanese sci-fi movies, such as Godzilla.

Then, just lean back and enjoy multiple impressive and intense digital fight sequences between Jaegers and Kaijus.

The movie's soundtrack composed by Ramin Djawadi adds necessary gravity and grandeur. The cast, especially Idris Elba as Stacker Pentecost, commanding officer of the Jaeger project gives a very convincing performance. He exudes a lot of authority effortlessly and you could feel the weight of the world on his shoulders when he shouts, "Today, we cancel the apocalypse!" 

Most importantly, the Jaegers are too darn handsome!

[Photo source]

Gipsy Danger

Striker Eureka

Cherno Alpha

 

Coyote Tango

 Crimson Typhoon

You must watch this movie!

0

Movie: CZ12 (十二生肖) (2012)

CZ12 (十二生肖) (2012) is an action-adventure movie by Jackie Chan.

Synopsis from here: Globe-trotting soldier-of-fortune JC (Jackie Chan) is hired by shady antiques dealers to track down six missing bronze animal-heads by any means necessary. The six bronzes originally formed part of a set of twelve, representing the animals of the Chinese Zodiac, forming part of a fountain in the old Summer Palace outside Beijing; they were looted and dispersed when Anglo-French armies sacked the Summer Palace in 1860.

JC and his crack team of assistants first head to France, where two of the bronzes are believed to be held in a private collection. The operation to 'liberate' the bronzes from a heavily guarded Chateau brings JC into an uneasy alliance with Coco, a Chinese student in Paris, who is active in a global movement which campaigns for stolen cultural treasures to be returned to their homelands. Along the way, JC makes an enemy-for-life of Pierre, the chief of staff at the Chateau Marceau, and an unexpected friend of Katherine, a bankrupted aristocrat whose home contains another of the missing bronzes.

The trail next leads JC and his team, now including Coco and Katherine, to a forgotten tropical island in the South Seas, where two missing animal heads are found in a beached wreck. A multi-national band of pirates moves to block the team's getaway, but JC's skill and resourcefulness wins the day. Back home, JC is stunned to learn that his employers already had the sixth missing bronze all along, and he sets out to teach them a lesson for tricking him.

Meanwhile the protest movement has persuaded buyers to shun auctions of stolen national treasures, and the shady dealers are threatening to destroy the sixth bronze in public. Will JC's conscience – and his sense of Chinese national pride – kick in to push him to save the last bronze from destruction? The answer is played out on the slopes of an active volcano...

My verdict: This movie bursts with a cacophony of emotions - funny, irritating, annoying, confusing, boring, exhilarating - Jackie Chan's trademark. Conversations among the characters - spoken in three main languages - Mandarin, English, and French - can be quite entertaining at first, but when I have to read the subtitles way too often, it becomes kinda annoying. The action scenes are entertaining and they are basically all about Jackie Chan and his almost impossible stunts for a 58-year-old man.

If you're a staunch Jackie Chan fan, you might enjoy watching this movie. As for me, I find it watchable, as expected.

2

Movie: Painted Skin: The Resurrection (画皮II) (2012)

Painted Skin: The Resurrection (画皮II) or Painted Skin 2 (2012) is a Chinese supernatural fantasy movie, the sequel to Painted Skin (2008). Mainland China divas, Zhou Xun reprises her role as a fox demon whereas this time, Zhao Wei appears as a princess.

Synopsis: Xiaowei (Zhou Xun) is a fox demon imprisoned under ice for the past 500 years after she broke demon rules by saving human lives. Once freed, she continues to devour human hearts to regain her youth and beauty. She crosses path with Princess Jing (Zhao Wei), a masked warrior on her way across China to find her true love Huo Xin (Chen Kun). Failing to win his heart, Jing succumbs to Xiaowei's proposal to swap their faces and bodies. By doing so, Xiaowei obtains Jing's heart and Jing regains beauty to woo Huo Xin.

Sounds far-fetched huh? Well, that's Chinese demon legend and fantasy for you. The legend says it takes hundreds, even up to a thousand years to attain human form. However, a demon doesn't have a human heart and thus couldn't experience mortality. If there is a human being who offers his / her heart freely to a demon, it then can become a mortal.

This is an estrogen-packed movie because the chemistry between the two leading actresses, Zhou Xun and Zhao Wei is very dense. Both are super gorgeous and their performance rivals and complements one another at the same time.

Zhao's CGI-ed body-swapping scenes with Zhou are the highlights of this movie and they are much more emotionally touching compared to those sappy, teary eyes scenes with Chen Kun. By the way, Chen Kun looks stupid in this movie. His character is definitely overshadowed by the two divas. He has nothing to prove apart from acting helpless, heartbroken and well, plain stupid.

I would say this movie will definitely be a favorite among the ladies because it's basically a story of a woman's selfless, sacrificial love as she fights off another pretty woman while trying to capture a man's heart and affection. Sad, but true.

If you have watched the first movie, you should watch this one too. The legendary demon-human face-off between Zhou Xun and Zhao Wei is one that you won't wanna miss. :)

2

Movie: The Flowers of War (2011)

The Flowers of War (2011), directed by acclaimed director Zhang Yimou, is an epic Chinese drama war movie set in 1937 during the "Nanjing Massacre".

Synopsis: An American mortician John Miller (Christian Bale) arrives at a cathedral in Nanjing to help bury the deceased priest, only to find himself being among a group of convent girl students and also a troupe of prostitutes from a nearby brothel led by Yu Mo (Ni Ni). He soon realizes that he is their sole protector from the invading Japanese forces. Unwilling at first, he soon discovers the meaning of true sacrifice and honor. 

Here's a very good introduction: The Flowers of War is a big movie in every sense of the word, from its kinetic battle scenes to the beautiful photography and impressive performances from a mostly young and inexperienced cast. Any new project from Zhang Yimou is a big deal. He is China's most internationally-renowned filmmaker, praised for both for his bold visual style in films such as Hero and Curse of the Golden Flower, but also for his earlier, more character-driven films, like Ju Dou and Raise the Red Lantern, which detail the plights of young women in oppressive, male-centric societies. [via]

Also, here's Zhang Yimou's message about the movie: No matter what wars or disasters happen in history, what surrounds these times is life, love, salvation and humanity. I hope those things are felt in this story. The human side of the story was more important to me than the background of the Nanjing massacre. Human nature, love and sacrifice - these are the things that are truly eternal. For me, the event is the historical background of the film. But the enduring question of the story is how the human spirit is expressed in wartime.

This is a very thought-provoking and emotional movie. It may stir up unnecessary negative emotional reactions towards a certain nation. So, do watch with utmost discretion.

0

Movie: The Viral Factor (2012)

The Viral Factor (2012) is a Hong Kong action movie directed by Dante Lam who's well-known for his big-budgeted crooks-versus-cops action thrillers. This movie assembles actors from Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, and Malaysia. Almost 80% of the movie is shot in Kuala Lumpur.

Synopsis: Jon Man (Jay Chou), an agent with the International Security Affairs is on a mission to protect a criminal scientist in escort when his team leader Sean (Andy On) betrays the team. Jon is injured and told to have only two weeks to live. He goes back to Beijing to spend his remaining days with his mother who later tells him about his long-lost brother, Man Yeung (Nicholas Tse) whom she left behind with his father, Man Tin (Liu Kai-chi) more than 20 years ago.

Jon arrives in Malaysia and discovers that Yeung is a wanted criminal and is somehow involved in Sean's plan. Jon is drawn into the conflict with the hope to stop Yeung from continuing his crooked path and to thwart Sean's criminal plan.

With more than two hours of intense action right from the very beginning, I find myself very lethargic. I think the movie fares better if it's a tad shorter, say 20 minutes.

Beginning with gunfight scenes in Jordan, action continues with Dante Lam's signature directions, i.e. jumping from tall buildings, car chases, extensive gun shootings, bomb blasts, helicopter chase, brutal murder, kidnapping, one-on-one combat, etc. I wonder if Dante Lam wants to be Michael Bay or something like that. This movie seems to be very ambitious because it crams in all sorts of possible action scenes.

By the way, it's really interesting to watch our Malaysian police force in action. And also when Man Yeung drives a Perodua Myvi. Hahaha!

Overall, it's a good action thriller, one that can rival some of Hollywood's movies of the same genre. With big names like Nicholas Tse and Jay Chou, and with almost 80% of the movie shot in KL, how could you miss this movie?

0

Movie: 23:59 (2011)

An Army Ghost Story

23:59 (2011) is a Singaporean horror movie written and directed by Gilbert Chan. It's set in 1983 on Pulau Tekong, an island where Singaporean men attend National Service.

Synopsis from 23:59 The Movie FB page: A rumor had been circulating like wildfire amongst the soldiers. A mad woman living on the island had died at the exact hour of 23:59, and it is believed that her spirit had returned to haunt the soldiers at the exact same time.

One of the recruits, Tan, the introverted platoon outcast, is adamant that he will be the next victim of the mad woman's spirit. He tries to convince his buddy Jeremy that the woman's spirit has been visiting him every night. Jeremy laughs it off and claims that there are no such things as ghosts in this world. They only exist because of Tan's overactive imagination. However, during the 24km road march for the platoon in the forest, Tan was found dead by the river, with his limbs contorted in a strange way and an expression of deep fear on his face.

Overwhelmed with guilt, Jeremy decides to investigate Tan's death, convinced that it was not an accident as what the military officers believe. Little does he know that the truth behind Tan's death will unearth a terrible dark secret of the island and he will have to confront his deepest fears in order to find the truth.

Here's my feedback: Being a big fan of the horror genre, I can safely say that 23:59 is considerably mild and won't spook you to death. It doesn't have the spine-tingling, pure evil factor that broods all over you at the end of the movie but it does have some significant scary moments. Having said that, pay attention to scenes related to the character called "Chester". Another worthy-to-be-highlighted scene is when Sergeant Kuah (Mark Lee from Petaling Street Warriors) is doing headcount in the jungle while looking for the missing Tan...

I like its simple and straightforward plot based on supposedly true accounts about ghosts in Pulau Tekong. To heighten the movie's spookiness, most scenes are shot at night and in the jungle's naturally spooky atmosphere. The ghosts are not that scary-looking, so camera angles and some sound effect produce the necessary end-result to make you believe that they are scary.

To diffuse some tension, just stay relaxed and laugh at Sergeant Kuah's Singlish with Hokkien accent. He does it so naturally that I thought I'm watching a horror comedy.

Overall, if you don't mind watching a mild spooky movie, you might want to count this movie in.

0

Movie: Petaling Street Warriors 大英雄•小男人 (2011)

Petaling Street Warriors (Chinese: 大英雄•小男人) (2011) is the first period kungfu comedy to be produced locally in Malaysia and Singapore. Yuk-sing Ma (马玉成) from Hong Kong serves as action choreographer.

According to Wikipedia, this movie is inspired by a controversial legend about Emperor Jianwen of Ming Dynasty, who is rumored to have fled to Southeast Asia when he was dethroned in the year 1402 by his own uncle, Zhu Di, who later became Emperor Yongle.

Synopsis from Petaling Street Warriors' FB page: Set against the background of Petaling Street in 1908, Petaling Street Warriors tells the story of a pair of married couple, Shi Duyao (Mark Lee 李国煌) and Zhung Lichun (Yeo Yann Yann 杨雁雁), who operate a Hokkien mee stall in Petaling Street, where they suffer from the inefficiency of the colonial government and suppression by the Chinese gangsters.

While trying to impress his wife, Duyao encounters a mysterious yet strikingly beautiful kungfu expert, Xiaoju (Chris Tong 童冰玉), who claims that Duyao is a descendant of the missing Emperor Jianwen of the Ming Dynasty. To stop a group of Qing warriors and Japanese ninjas from robbing a treasure map that Duyao doesn't even know he has, Lichun and her cousin, Liukun (Namewee 黄明志), finally reveal their kungfu, turning Petaling Street into the ultimate battleground. Facing enemies of unthinkable powers, could Duyao unravel the mystery of his real identity and come to his wife's rescue just in time? 
So, what do I think? To be honest, this movie is just soooo AWESOME! After I've watched Nasi Lemak 2.0 in September this year and when I saw Namewee's name on the Petaling Street Warriors movie poster, I knew I have to watch this movie.

Without providing spoilers, let me give you five (5) reasons why you MUST watch this movie:

1. Impressive action sequences: I can't believe my eyes. I've always been under the impression that Malaysian and Singaporean stars can't be compared to Hong Kong stars. But this movie has proven me wrong. Pay attention to action sequences between the two female leads - Yann Yann and Chris Tong; and also sequences involving the evil eunuch. Brilliant!

2. Superb, solid performance from the cast: Everyone is fantastic, including the supporting cast and extras! And I really enjoy listening to different languages - English, Malay, Japanese; and Chinese dialects - Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien, Hailamese (not sure it should be Hainanese). Awesome!

3. Smart comedy: Amidst tension fight-or-die moments, the scripts are crafted with just enough in-depth comedic relief that doesn't jeopardize the movie's storyline or make the audience feels stupid by laughing way too much. Smart!

4. Catchphrase: What phrase? It's called Jidut! Watch this movie to understand its meaningful. Jidut!

5. Subtle nuances of citizenship and governance: To me, this is the most important part of this movie. I tear a bit when Sun Wen or Sun Yat Sen (one of the characters) speaks something along this line. I don't remember his exact words but the message is good. Salute! 

Something to be proud of: After viewing the film as it underwent post-production work in Hong Kong, numerous Hong Kong filmmakers call the film as the "watershed" and "milestone" in the history of Malaysian Chinese film industry. [via] 

Finally, all I have to say is, go watch this movie. Make yourself proud, make the Malaysian Chinese movie industry proud!

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Movie: Sleepwalker (2011)

Sleepwalker (2011) is Hong Kong Oxide Pang's latest thriller in 3D.

Here's a very long synopsis from MovieXclusive.com: Yi (Lee Sinje) is an ordinary woman living a mundane life. Over the years, she has been bothered by a repeated dream, in that dream she stands alone on wasteland with a doubt of the mystery being buried underneath.

One day, Yi meets a handsome young man, Eric (Li Zong Han), when he comes to Yi's garment alteration shop to hire a service. The two lonesomes are quickly drawn together, particularly after Yi shares with Eric about the tortures from those strange dreams.

On the other side, Sergeant Au (Huo Si Yan) desperately purses a kidnap-murder case, she never pushed any harder as it's her nephew the missing hostage in this case. Ransom has been paid, but the kid's whereabouts is still a mystery. Tortured by extreme anxiety, Sgt. Au's sister Peggy (Charlie Yeung) turns hysterical, she radically accuses her young sister of her incapability of tracking down the culprit. Their relationship turns bad but Sgt. Au sympathizes with her sister and she vows to bring the kidnapper to justice by herself.

Eric's effort still falls short to comfort Yi, the details of Yi's nightmares are getting more and more sophisticated. Sometimes she finds her bedside is stained with mud in the morning. She can't help thinking that she would really walk on that wasteland and kill someone there while sleepwalking…

Sgt. Au crosses path with Yi when she visits Yi to investigate missing case of Yi's ex-husband, Ming. Yi is in absolute shock, but she quickly jumps to a conclusion that she kills Ming as from the bottom of heart she hates this unfaithful man. During interrogation, Yi tells all the details and confesses that she would murder in her sleep. Following the clues hidden in Yi's dream, Sgt. Au leads her team to the crime scene, however, the body claimed to be buried underneath is no where to find...

Sounds confusing? Yes, it does if you haven't watched it. There are basically two subplots that co-joins subtly somewhere along the storyline. When the subplots finally merge into one, the amount of revelation can be emotional. It's very hard for me to put into words about what I'm trying to say because the story toys with emotions - intense grief, remorse, depression, hopelessness - while putting an effort to make sense an illogical storyline of how a woman who has never met the murderer can "dreamed" and "found" the murder site. It just doesn't make sense.

Quoting MovieXclusive.com, the only saving grace is that Lee Sinje is in the lead role, and no matter the leaps in logic, she remains a consummate performer playing the psychologically troubled Yi with conviction.

Oh well, I wouldn't really recommend this movie because it's only available in 3D, which is a waste of "technology" for this sort of movie genre, and it's dubbed in Cantonese when most of the actors and actresses are obviously speaking in Mandarin.

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Movie: Nasi Lemak 2.0 (辣死你妈) (2011)

Nasi Lemak 2.0 (辣死你妈) (2011) is a Malaysian comedy movie by Namewee, famously known for his controversial songs, videos, etc.

Synopsis from GSC: Young Chef Huang (Namewee) struggles to get his restaurant business going because he cannot adapt to the 'localized' cooking his patrons are looking for. However, contradict to his unpopular cuisine, he is also well-known as 'Hero Huang' in the local neighborhood where he carries out good deed in helping the community until he met Xiao K (Karen Kong) who got him into deep trouble.

In order to get his life and the restaurant business back on track, Chef Huang must now seek help from a mysterious hawker stall lady (Adibah Noor), who summons him to embark on the extraordinary journey of his life. During this self-enlightening experience, he will also meet many 'local heroes' each lending their support to help him re-discover his roots and the real hidden message of 'Nasi Lemak'.

Here are some excerpts from the original article found here that pretty sums up the entire movie.

• Wee Meng Chee - better known by the alias Namewee - characteristically pulls few punches in Nasi Lemak 2.0, an unusually daring exploration of a tide of racial distrust that has stoked concern in multi-ethnic Malaysia.
• The comedy, named after the national rice dish and which opened last week, takes an unflinching but ultimately fond look at many of the racial stereotypes that Muslim-majority Malaysia's various ethnic groups aim at each other.
• "My message is that the system in Malaysia is unequal... But when we live together, we eat together, there is no racism. I want to show the real Malaysia, how we live together. For 1Malaysia to work we have to be treated equally. I just want to share my music, my creativity with my true feelings without hiding anything," says Wee.
• Nasi Lemak 2.0 was aimed at internet-savvy Malaysian youngsters fed up with official calls for unity by the Malay-dominated government that has been in power for decades.
• With its cast of local stars, song-and-dance numbers, martial arts routines, and numerous jokes drawing on current events, the movie has proven a hit with some, and Wee's Facebook page has been bombarded with supportive postings.
• Nasi Lemak 2.0 may not be perfect, but it has its moments. It's a Malaysian movie, yes, but it is out to make us take a good hard look at ourselves... and laugh.

That's it. Recommended if you enjoy puns and laughs.

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Movie: Overheard 2 (窃听风云 2) (2011)

Overheard 2 (窃听风云 2) (2011) is a Hong Kong crime thriller - the sequel to the successful Overheard (窃听风云) (2009). The three main stars from the 2009 movie - Lau Ching Wan, Louis Koo, Daniel Wu - also star in this 2011 sequel but they play different characters due to a completely different storyline.

Synopsis: A reputable stockbroker, Manson Law (Lau Ching Wan) is injured in a car crash when he's trying to avoid from being followed by an unknown person. An officer from the Anti-Terrorist Force, Ho Chi-keung (Louis Koo) who's assigned to investigate the case found military surveillance devices in Manson's car. He soon discovers that a mysterious guy named Joe (Daniel Wu) is the one who's spying on Law and other members of "Landlord Club", a legendary club with members from top business tycoons and entrepreneurs in Hong Kong who have the ability to control the stock market.

The rest of the cast are Hong Kong's famous veteran actors - Kenneth Tsang (曾江) as Uncle Tung, the ruthless leader of the "Landlord Club" and the eldest among the club members; Bowie Wu Fung (胡枫) as Joe's deceased father, also an ex-member of the club; and the rest ot the members - Felix Lok (骆应钧) as Chan Chim, Kong Ngai (江毅) as Uncle Sing Wan, and Samuel Kwok Fung (郭峰) as Mr Lin. These TVB familiar faces whom we grow up with really give this movie a huge boost to its rating.

Here's an interesting review from IMDb:

The topic of inside trading hits timely with the audience, and the film attempts to remind yet again the facts about the ills to the stock market - numbers are fixed by the few in power, and that the sub-prime fallout owes much to the policies of the US government.

What's interesting is that unlike other films about inside trading, Mak & Chong (directors) injects a sense of patriotism by highlighting the battles won by these now evil men in the early days of Hong Kong's stock market - the powers they earned by having fought off foreign investors in attacks to crash the HK stock market turned these patriots into monsters.

This plot point connects much more strongly to the audience than all the convoluted trade jargon and scam tactics we see in similar films, and reinforces the trade-mark "Heroes gone bad" character development Mak & Chong have used repeatedly since Infernal Affairs.

Overall, this movie is solid commercial stuff that should entertain mass audiences. Pretty much as good as the original, with the added bonus of more action. Read more here.

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Movie: Contagion (2011)

Nothing Spreads Like Fear

Contagion (2011) is a thriller movie about a fast-moving global pandemic that causes worldwide panic and fear as international medical organizations races to find a cure.

Synopsis: Upon returning from a business trip to Hong Kong, Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) becomes sick. Her husband, Mitch (Matt Damon) figures it's nothing to be too concerned about but normal flu. Beth and their young son soon die unexpectedly.

Over the next few days, more and more people become sick and die from similar illness. A global pandemic soon begins. Dr. Ellis Cheever (Laurence Fishburne) of the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) leads the investigation to trace the pandemic's source. Working closely with him are Epidemic Intelligence Service officer, Dr. Erin Mears (Kate Winslet) and a scientist, Dr. Ally Hextall (Jennifer Ehle). On the other hand, the World Health Organization (WHO) sends Dr. Leonora Orantes (Marion Cotillard) to Hong Kong to track down possible origins.

At the same time, a freelance blogger, Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law) adds to the confusion of uncontrollable panic and fear as he accuses government elitists and pharmaceutical companies of exploiting the situation in order to milk maximum profit from the inevitable release of a vaccine.

First of all, don't expect an apocalyptic movie with exaggerating outcomes that seem far too unlikely in real life. The outbreak in this movie is called MEV-1 and it's compared to outbreaks in our real life - e.g. SARS, H1N1, and the Spanish flu that claimed 50 million lives in 1918. This gives the audience a disturbing sense of panicky and thought-provoking realism, "What if this really happen? What will our response be?"

Another thing is about the truly impressive array of stars - Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, etc. Some of them have rather short screen time but they play significant roles in the overall storyline. This contributes to both the strength and weakness of this movie. Its strength is the number of diverging subplots starring different stars that contributes to a realistic, interesting, and powerful story; its weakness is the restricted and rushed character development due to the big number of the main and supporting characters.

Overall, despite being not as exceptional as expected, this movie does make us think twice, thrice, or perhaps more about people sneezing, shaking hands, and anything done in the public. It's indeed scary.

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