This Chinese New Year holiday, BBC will be featuring a series of special holiday programmes, all day, from 31st January till 2nd February 2014, on the following BBC channels – BBC Knowledge, BBC Lifestyle, BBC Entertainment, and CBeebies (available on Starhub channels in Singapore).
I have 5 sets of BBC CBeebies Chinese New Year red packets to giveaway! To win them, simplyLIKE my facebook page or FOLLOW me on Twitterand PM me with your name, contact number, email and mailing address to send the red packets to. The first five persons to do so before 9am tomorrow (25 Jan) will be the winners.
More on the BBC programmes:
Go back to where Chinese New Year started with BBC Knowledge (Starhub Channel 407) by taking an in-depth look into Beijing: Biography of an Imperial Capital. Also, take a peek into the driving forces of one the world’s largest economies with China on 4 Wheels and Gok Wan: Made in China.
Learn tips and tricks to preparing easy and delicious Chinese cuisine with fashion stylist Gok Wan in Gok Cooks Chinese on BBC Lifestyle (Starhub Channel 432). Craving for something different? Follow Rachel Khoo into her home kitchen in Little Paris Kitchen: Cooking with Rachel Khoo, where she teaches you how to whip up simple and rich French cuisine.
Lose yourself in the magical world of Arabia on BBC Entertainment (Starhub Channel 521), with the Sinbad (series 1) marathon.
Get your little ones in the mood for arts and crafts with a Mister Maker (series 3) marathon and the first episode of the new series of Mister Maker Around the World on CBeebies (Starhub Channel 303). Join Sarah & Duck as the little girl and her duck friend go on their adventures and try to solve problems that they encounter along the way. Ever wondered how the rest of the world celebrated Chinese New Year? Let’s Celebrate shows you how.
Last Saturday, the StarHub TVB Awards 2013 capped off a night to remember as the industry’s biggest names gathered at the Marina Bay Sands Grand Theatre to honour the best in TVB programming. Broadcasted ‘live’ on E City (StarHub TV Channel 111/825) for the first time, the Awards saw a total of 31 trophies presented across 20 categories.
Thanks to Starhub, Rachel and I attended the ‘live’ recording of the show.
The biggest winner of the night was Triumph in the Skies II (衝上雲霄2) which completed a clean sweep of four wins with Myolie Wu (胡杏儿) and Julian Cheung (张智霖) winning the My Favourite TVB Male and Female TV Character awards for their roles in the blockbuster hit drama. Even more impressively, it also snagged both the My Favourite TVB Drama and the Singapore Media’s Favourite TVB Drama awards, proving its pedigree as a series with both mass appeal and critical acclaim.
Three cast members from Triumph in the Skies II up on stage
Rachel and I had not seen this TVB series before the awards, but we left intrigued enough to want to catch it now on Starhub!
The Awards also saw local viewers voicing their strong support for the local production, Lady First (女人我最大) – Singapore, which beat strong competition from established names to walk away with the My Favourite TVB Variety Show and My Favourite TVB Variety Show Host awards. Both awards were open to public voting and marked the first time a local programme won a StarHub TVB Award.
Pauline Lan on stagePauline Lan getting affectionate on stage
Lady First (女人我最大) is one of Rachel’s favourite TV program and Pauline Lan (蓝心湄), the anchor host of the show is one of her all-time favourite TV host. Rachel was thrilled to see Pauline Lan make her appearance on stage at the awards show.
A surprise appearance by Michael Miu (苗侨伟) stole the show as the veteran claimed the Classic TVB Character award, much to the delight of the packed theatre and the thousands of viewers watching at home. One of TVB’s ‘Five Tigers’ in the 1980s, Miu became a household name with his role as Yong Kang in the 1983 TVB series, The Legend of the Condor Heroes (射雕英雄传).
Miu joked about how the award he won is for old-timers who are about to retire and he thinks he is still in his prime now. He is 55 years old this year, but I would have to agree with him that he still have a long way to retirement. Just look at how suave he still look at this age:
Michael Miu, looking as good as ever
The most coveted individual accolades – My Favourite TVB Actress and My Favourite TVB Actor, were won by Tavia Yeung (杨怡) and Bosco Wong (黄宗泽) respectively. Bosco then made it two out of two with the My Favourite TVB Male TV Character award before sealing his hat-trick of wins by sharing the My Favourite TVB On Screen Couple award with Niki Chow (周丽淇) for their irresistible onscreen chemistry in A Change of Heart (好心作怪).
Tavis Yeung collecting her trophyBosco Wong getting his award on stage from Pauline Lan
Hosts, King Kong Li and Elaine YiuMag Lam singing Little Something
Linda Chung (钟嘉欣), who picked up a My Favourite TVB Female TV Character award and the Everlasting Glow Award, also took to the stage to perform Eternal Flame, while the cast of the local movie That Girl in Pinafore (我的朋友, 我的同学, 我爱过的一切) brought some local flavour to the event with a xinyao medley.
Linda Chung collecting an award on stageLinda Chung singing Eternal FlameAnother picture of Linda Chung singingXinyao performance by casts of The Girl in Pinafore
Not to be outdone, the finalists of TVB’s hit reality singing competition The Voice of the Stars (星夢傳奇) responded with a unique medley of their own, putting a fresh spin to a collection of classic theme songs.
Four singers from The Voices of the Stars
The StarHub TVB Awards 2013 kicked off with the red carpet special where some local celebrities shared the stage with the pantheon of TVB A-listers in front of hundreds of screaming fans. Viewers also played their part in making it a memorable night by voting Linda Chung as the inaugural winner of the best dressed Red Carpet Star via the StarHub TV Buddy second screen app.
“We are pleased with yet another successful StarHub TVB Awards. The Awards represents the strong partnership between StarHub and TVB, one which has progressed beyond broadcasting to include localised content productions such as Lady First – Singapore. As an event, we have also raised the bar with the first-ever ‘live’ broadcast of the Awards ceremony. Together, we will continue to provide the best TVB experience for our customers. My congratulations to the winners,” said Mr Tan Tong Hai, Chief Executive Officer, StarHub.
“Since its inception, the StarHub TVB Awards has grown to become one of the marquee events of the year. It has been a joy working with StarHub for the past two decades and we are appreciative of StarHub’s continuous efforts in promoting TVB productions to Singapore viewers. Long may this continue,” said Mr Sherman Lee, Controller, International Business, TVBI.
All the TVB stars on stage
The StarHub TVB Awards 2013 is presented by Jean Yip Group. Main Sponsors are SK Jewellery and OSIM. The event is co-sponsored by Hada Labo, Panasonic and Phyto. The Official Smartphone is HTC, the Official Car is Mercedes Benz and the Official Integrated Resort is Marina Bay Sands.
If you missed the show on Saturday, fret not – you can catch the repeat telecast on VV Drama (StarHub TV Channel 855) on 5 October 2013, 8pm.
I was interviewed for an episode of SG+ which will be showing on Channel NewsAsia (CNA) on Tuesday (1 Oct 2013) at 8pm.
SG+ is described by CNA as a weekly current affairs programme that examines complex long-term issues facing Singapore as we redefine our future.
The topic I was interviewed on was whether social media affects Singaporeans’ trust in the government – in a densely connected online world, social media and networks have great potential in influencing our thoughts and actions. Does it affect our trust in the government and public institutions?
I hope I did okay as I was running a slight fever that day. I decided to go ahead with the interview as the CNA crew had specially arranged to come over my home for the shoot.
Do share your thoughts on this issue by leaving comments. 🙂
Rachel and I have been hooked on Hell’s Kitchen, Masterchef and Kitchen Nightmares recently. When you have to deal with too many stupid people in life, watching Chef Ramsay explode on screen can be therapeutic.
“It’s RRRRRAAAAWWWWWWW!”
“You have to get your HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS!”
“PISS OFF!”
I wish I can scream at stupid people the way Chef Ramsay does it.
In case you have not heard, Chef Ramsay will be in Singapore this weekend to take on three Singapore hawkers in a Hawker Heroes culinary challenge organised by SingTel:
After eight days of intensive voting and over 2.5 million votes, Singapore has chosen Mr Ang Kiam Meng from Jumbo Seafood (319,922 votes), Mdm Foo Kui Lian from Tian Tian Chicken Rice (318,151 votes), and Mr Ryan Koh from 328 Katong Laksa (316,611 votes), as the three most popular hawkers to challenge Gordon Ramsay. Watch their introductory videos:
Singaporeans will have the opportunity to sample the dishes by Chef Ramsay and the hawkers this Sunday, and decide who does it better through a live vote.
In the words of Gordon Ramsay himself, “Game on!”
Event details:
Date: 7 July 2013 (this Sunday)
Time: 6:30pm to 9pm
Venue: Newton Food Centre, 500 Clemenceau Avenue North, Singapore 229495
I will be there. I am not going to miss this for the world.
I want to know if Chef Ramsay can scold bad words in Hokkien and Singlish if he loses:
I was first introduced to Star Trek in 2009 by J. J. Abrams‘ film adaptation of the long-running TV series of the same name.
This year, Abrams released another Star Trek film – Star Trek Into Darkness, featuring the two same lead actors, Chris Pine as James T. Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock. The two of them were really good in the first film and shared many tense screen moments. Expect more such moments in this sequel, pitting Kirk’s abrasive, emotion-driven nature against Spock’s rigid, emotionless state.
A new addition to the cast from the first film is British actor, Benedict Cumberbatch, as Khan, the arch nemesis of the Star Trek crew.
Rachel and I watched the preview together last week, thanks to the folks from United International Pictures.
Both of us are big fans of the British TV series, Sherlock, which stars Cumberbatch as an ultra intelligent, eccentric detective in modern time London. In fact, he was the main draw for us.
Cumberbatch has limited screen time, but he has a really strong screen presence. Even though his character is decked in as simple black body suit, he look menacingly handsome as a super villain with his cold hard stare and towering posturing. This is one bad guy that many cinema-goers will find hard to hate!
Abrams did not disappoint either. The sci-fi genre just flows so naturally under his direction. He managed to make all the sci-fi mumbo jumbo on time travel, alternate reality and other such topics simple and easy to digest for the regular cinema audience.
Rachel did not watch the first Abrams’ Star Trek film, nor a single episode of the TV series. She knows nothing about Star Trek, but enjoyed this latest film all the same.
Star Trek Into the Darkness is now showing in Singapore cinemas. Go catch it! Rachel and I are looking forward to the sequel to see more of Khan’s face-off with the Star Trek crew – provided the same talents are casted in the next film of course. All of them were great in the first two films. 🙂
A L V I N O L O G Y 