BAGUATV BLOG BY PAUL CHAN

After finding out about Pornsak’s newly set up restaurant (28 Liang Seah Street) in i-Weekly, I rounded up some colleagues and headed straight for his new blend of sexy thai food…

Located just diagonally opposite Crystal Jade, it was easy to spot the cutesy Porn’s logo of an elephant sticking its butt out… This logo is very Pornsak – animated, friendly and cheerful.

At lunchtime, it was crowded but Pornsak managed to find us a table for four at the courtyard inside. We sat just directly next to the aircon so it was ok for me (though not for my colleagues who hated the sun) despite the mid-day sunlight streaming through the open top glass ceiling…it must be real romantic to eat your Thai dinner with stars hovering above you…

This afternoon, the customers were mainly working class adults and students (some obviously there to gaze at Pornsak and his handsome business partner Tuan How – also an ex-MediaCorp Producer). ‘The Ultimate Comedian’ Ms Mole, appointed Restaurant Manager was busy helping out the Thai Chef in the kitchen…

Looking at the wide range of food on the menu, we decided to leave the ordering to Pornsak (who also suggested we try the drink named Nam Gap Jeap at $3.90/-)…

The rest of the food arrived shortly…even though it was a crowded afternoon with a happy but busy Pornsak serving customers from one table to another…

Porn’s signature dish on the menu is – Tom Yum Pot ($12.90/- a pot for sharing). We opted for seafood mix and we weren’t disappointed. The tom yum soup we had was really good – 够酸但不会辣到你要猛灌冰水.

We also had Rice Cracker ($6.50/-) with a meat dip and Green Mango Salad (a wonderful $7.90/- dish with fried 鳕鱼丝 sprinkled on top and it was so good I forgot to shoot a photograph)… Personally find the Green Curry Chicken $10.90/- a bit too sweet (but the other 3 colleagues of mine loved it)…

Stuffed chicken wings (light crispy skin and tasty fillings)…

…and equally crispy prawn cakes $8.50/- (unlike most typical tangy prawn cakes as this is more of a minced prawn filling cake)…

We also had Kangkong ($6.50/- and that was not my fav but my colleagues loved it fried with beans).

A meal is never a meal without dessert so we ordered Sticky Rice Mango ($8.50) and Red Ruby ($5.50/-) to share. We were extremely happy with the Sticky Rice Mango but not impressed with the Red Ruby (only if you like the taste of Rose Syrup added). Limited choices of dessert on the menu for now (more coming in future).

Porn’s was set up just 2 weeks ago and no official opening ceremony yet…it’s still uber-clean and a nice cosy place to hang out. The credit card facility is not in operation yet so we paid by Nets (you can also pay by cash). There are also many solo set lunch items on the menu so you are ok coming here alone or just with a colleague or friend who doesn’t fancy sharing food with you. My verdict for Porn’s:

Pornsak’s Service & Cheerfulness: Priceless

Ambience: !!!!! (Courtyard) !!! (Hall)
Food: !!!! (5 !!!!! for it’s signature’s dish – Tom Yum Pot)
Affordabilty: !!!! (Thai food with ambience + hip city location + fairly extensive menu)
Recommended: For working adults, friends’ gatherings and couples out for a romantic dinner in the courtyard
Address: Porn’s at 28 Liang Seah Street (Tel:               6337 5535          )

Pornsak will be flying off to shoot 食在好源头Food Source 2 from October so you may want to catch him at the restaurant soon…

Tags: Bagua TV, Food Source, MediaCorp, Paul Chan, Porn's, Pornsak

1,014,000 viewers were hooked to the countdown episodes of ‘Unriddle 最火搭档’. Preview the last few moments of ‘Unriddle’ in this latest trailer:

Tags: Bagua TV, BaguaTV, Chen Li Ping, MediaCorp, Paul Chan, Paul Chan's blog, Rui En, Tay Ping Hui, 最火搭档, 瑞恩, 郑斌辉, 陈莉萍

2011 二月新传媒８频道新剧 ‘Love in 2 Cities 乐在双城’ (debuts from Valentine’s Day) 的三位女主角有Rui En 瑞恩, Joanne Peh 白微秀 and 台湾帅气女庞蕾馨 Kate Pang. The male leads are Zhang Zheng Huan 張振寰, Pierre Png 方展发 and Zhang Yao Dong 张耀栋. Others include Zhu Mi Mi 朱咪咪, Julie Tan 陈欣淇, Constance Song 宋怡菲, Yao Wen Long 姚文龙, Huang Wen Yong 黄文永, Darren Lim 林明伦, Xiang Yun 向云, Koh Yah Hwee 许雅慧, Jerry Yeo 杨伟烈, etc.

章雅乐（瑞恩饰演）- 大小姐脾气。乐观坚强，从不轻易认输。花钱不手软、注重生活品质和享受，被阿姨梅金凤（朱咪咪饰演）戏称患有“公主病”。出身富有家庭，自小集万千宠爱于一身。她在父母亲意外去世后继承了庞大的遗产。因为所托非人，导致在新加坡的生意严重亏损甚至有破产的危机。无意中得知母亲曾经在大马和阿姨梅金凤合资开了一家婚纱店，于是到大马想要从金凤手中拿回属于母亲的股权，无奈金凤坚持不肯，走投无路之下唯有留在大马投靠金凤。因为受不了金凤高压式的管教法，常常跟金凤斗智斗力。雅乐故意在文涛（方展发饰演）和他女朋友依婷之（许雅慧饰演）间搞破坏，其实是心里已经渐渐爱上了文涛。。。

潘乐瑶（白微秀饰演）- 精打细算的聰穎女子，非常懂得为自已争取表现机会。爱以名牌包装自己，可以为了目的而不择手段。认为有钱能使鬼推磨，财富是最重要的。在模特儿界被称为“千变女郎”，其实是暗讽她经常作性感打扮、以不同的形象周旋在不同的有钱男人之中，最终目标是嫁入豪门。在欧阳明（张耀栋饰演）的帮助下成功进入酒店当上正凯（張振寰饰演）的私人助理，如愿成为正凯的女朋友后，以为可以因此而飞上枝头变凤凰，但同父异母的妹妹却成了自己最大的情敌。。。

林乐（新签约新传媒的台湾气质帅气女庞蕾馨Kate Pang饰演）- 金凤的独生女，自小学习音乐，一直梦想能够在台上表演，当个万众瞩目的演奏家，无奈无法达成心愿。渴望爱情，常常幻想着穿上婚纱那一刻的来临，可是没有一次恋爱可以维持三个月。搬到乐瑶的公寓跟乐瑶和雅乐同住以后，受到两人的影响，个性起了一百八十度的转变。她开始注重打扮、享受生活。。。但却让她碰上了爱情骗子。。。

Kate is a popular TV model in Taiwan (TVC經歷：沙威隆抗菌沐浴乳、麥當勞-人擠人篇、台新銀行-印章篇、花王魔術靈-專家篇、台北花卉博覽會-空中花園篇、DHC營養補給品-昆蟲篇、B&Q-一點都不能多篇、台灣癌症-安全篇等等). Watch 点击以下VIDEO 看看这位新签约的台湾帅气妹妹的庐山真面目：

When Kate was brought around the office, she was without much make-up and some journalists said she reminded them of the female actress 桂纶镁 in Jay Chou’s movie 不能说的秘密. In the TVC, I think she looks a bit like Hong Kong’s actress Charmaine Sheh Sze-man 佘詩曼…

Tags: BaguaTV, Constance Song, Darren Lim, Huang Wen Yong, Jerry Yeo, Joanne Peh, Julie Tan, Kate Pang, Koh Yah Hwee, MediaCorp Channel 8, Paul Chan, Pierre Png, Rui En, Xiang Yun, Yao Wen Long, Zhang Yao Dong, Zhang Zheng Huan, Zhu Mi Mi, 向云, 姚文龙, 宋怡菲, 庞蕾馨, 张耀栋, 張振寰, 方展发, 朱咪咪, 杨伟烈, 林明伦, 瑞恩, 白微秀, 许雅慧, 陈欣淇, 黄文永

Within just a few minutes given, she left a strong impression. Eloquent and filled with pointers aka news’ angles in her short introduction speech…see how reporters described her: “在記者會上說話頭頭是道，表現從容大方，鋒芒畢露，讓現場媒體刮目相看” (see Video 5 & 6)。

Yes, for a relatively unknown actress in Singapore, she became the darling star of the media at the recent press conference held last week. Her comments on co-stars Tay Ping Hui, Qi Yu Wu and Eelyn Kok were good enough to be used as stand alone news angle each. On top of that, her solo interviews with all the media could easily generate many more write-ups… Mmmnnn…2010’s Media Darling Award’s Dai Yang Tian and Joanne Peh – you have a new rival…hehe…

Chris Tong 童冰玉. This name has found a favorable position in the minds of the various media present. I am sure many will remember her when the drama debuts on 1st September. Will she continue to capture the hearts of the viewers after a successful blanket sweep of hearts at the press con? We shall see…

Check out the 9 videos – 戚玉武 Qi Yu Wu’s cold joke about not being invited to 郑斌辉 Tay Ping Hui’s wedding banquet, 郭舒贤 Ann Kok’s shortest comment ever at a press con, etc. For the complete set of videos, visit – http://www.youtube.com/baguatv

23 episodes of ‘走进走出The Family Court’ debuts September 1^st, 2010 at 9pm on MediaCorp Channel 8. This courtroom drama stars 郑斌辉 Tay Ping Hui, 戚玉武 Qi Yu Wu, 郭蕙雯 Eelyn Kok, 蔡佩璇 Cai Pei Xuan, 姚玟隆 Yao Wen Long, 洪慧芳 Hong Hui Fang, 宋怡霏 Constance Song, 郭舒贤 Ann Kok, 林明倫 Darren Lim, 潘淑钦 May Phua, etc. Executive Producer 监制：赖丽婷 and Story故事/编审 by 黄佳华/林锦兰.

Look out for the print ad as it will be an interactive ad and with the use of your handphone, you can check out something interesting…

Tags: Ann Kok, BaguaTV, BaguaTV blog, Cai Pei Xuan, Channel 8, Constance Song, Darren Lim, Eelyn Kok, Hong hui Fang, May Phua, MediaCorp, Paul Chan, Paul Chan’s Blog, Qi Yu Wu, Tay Ping Hui, The Family Court, Yao Wen Long, 姚玟隆, 宋怡霏, 戚玉武, 林明倫, 洪慧芳, 潘淑钦, 蔡佩璇, 走进走出, 郑斌辉, 郭舒贤, 郭蕙雯

From the people behind ‘煮妇的假期 Housewives’ Holidays’ , January’s ‘喜事年年 Prosperity’ will kick start the new year in 2011 with veteran stars in the main lead roles…

The 3 sisters’ female lead roles will be played by:

Hong Hui Fang 洪慧芳: 爱芯是名钢琴老师，温柔娴熟，心地非常善良，乐天派，是个很顾家的女人。她也很疼爱两个妹妹。二十多年前，儿子还在嗷嗷待哺时,新婚不久的老公就在车祸中丧命,爱芯伤心欲绝,原本想要结束生命，却在自杀的那一瞬间,看到了一则关于顺平的新闻访谈,顺平的不凡际遇,让她重燃对生命的热忱，学习以正面的心态排除万难，两人后来结为夫妻，生下女儿，并积极的为社会不幸的一群献出爱心，成为寄养保姆，乐观积极的她，总是勉励人们凡事要以微笑来面对。

Aileen Tan 陈丽贞: 爱丽是个雍容华贵的家庭主妇，非常注重排场装扮，很爱面子，爱炫耀，自私自利，为了个人利益，不惜耍手段。尽管老公已经落难，还继续打肿脸充胖子。老公离家出走后,她被逼着面对着债主的苦苦追债，还要供女儿读大学，逼到无路可逃, 不惜欺骗自己亲姐妹的钱，最后还投靠她看不起的大姐爱芯，与妹妹爱茗从小就爱针锋相对，两人一见面就会互相抬杠。

Priscelia Chen 曾诗梅: 爱茗是名小会计员，好胜心强，妒忌心重，怕输，见不得人好，得理不饶人，颇有姿色，当初在爱情与面包之间选择了爱情,被爱丽瞧不起,经常在言语间奚落她,也因此造成爱茗把名利看得很重，甚至还不自量力的要老公买公寓，住进公寓后，两夫妻为了生活奔波忙碌，忽略了两个处在叛逆期的孩子，好好的一个幸福家庭，搞得鸡犬不宁，面临经济危机的时候,爱茗险些铤而走险。

The younger generation’s roles go to 梁丽芳 Tiffany Leong, 陈邦鋆 Andie Chen and 袁帅 Yuan Shuai, 李美玲 Tracy Lee and 林慧玲 Rebecca.

22 episodes family drama ‘喜事年年 Prosperity’ is written by 故事/编审: 廖名利/张湄纭, Executive Producer 监制:林明哲, Production begins 23 Aug 2010 and telecast from 10 Jan 2011.

February 2011: A romantic comedy starring…read next issue’s of i-weekly (and maybe 8 Days)…

Tags: Aileen Tan, Andie Chen, Bagua TV, BaguaTV, Hong hui Fang, MediaCorp, Paul Chan, Paul Chan's blog, Priscelia Chen, Prosperity, Tracy Lee, Yuan Shuai, 喜事年年, 曾诗梅, 李美玲, 林慧玲, 梁丽芳 Tiffany Leong, 洪慧芳, 袁帅, 陈丽贞, 陈邦鋆

Thanks to you who die-die must watch ‘爱 Love’ every night, it has crossed the million viewership’s mark!

According to the viewership figures, more than half of all young people age 30 and below plus working adults aka PMEB (Professionals+Managers+Executives+Businessmen) who watched TV during ‘Love’ hours, preferred watching ’Love’ than all other TV shows!

And for the minority who have yet to tune in, try catching it and find out why it could be such an addictive drama for all ages.

Tags: Bagua, Bagua TV, BaguaTV, Love, MediaCorp, Paul Chan, Paul Chan's blog, 爱

小兵迎大将! This is not about Elvin Ng taking on Guo Liang…although both will be featured in one of the episodes (which partly triggered off the online war between the two)…

It’s the launch of a new gameshow hosted by Guo Liang and Auntie Lucy (yes, literally Dennis Chew as Auntie Lucy).  We engaged rising star Zhang Zhen Huan (also a contestant in one of the episodes with Dai Yang Tian and Zhou Ying) to play the role of a boxer taking on the kid (he is also ex-Singapore Idol’s Maia’s son) in this launch trailer…

[小兵Face Off大将]

Every episode sees 36 P5 and P6 students from a primary school fight to defend $18,000 for their school, against 3 adult personalities who take turns to answer primary school questions from 8 categories. The students answer the questions at the same time. Once a student gives the wrong response, the lights in his cubicle will be extinguished and he may no longer compete. The $500 he is helping to guard, will also be lost. If the personality gets the question correct, the total sum of money from the eliminated students will go to the personalities.  When a guest answers a maximum streak of 8 questions correctly, or gets 1 wrong, he must step down. The game ends when all members of either side have been eliminated.

The 3 personalities will share 4 helplines.

1. Majority wins – the guest must use the answer which most students have chosen
2. Enemy intel – the guest can pick one student and use his answer as a reference
3. Mentor advice – the guest can make a call out to a predetermined friend
4. One stone, two birds – 2 incorrect options out of the 4 available will be eliminated
5. Fellowship – the guest can receive help from his teammates.

The team with the last one standing will be able to take home the money. Money won by the schools will go to their school building fund, while the money won by the personalities will go to charity.

Version 2 trailer? Mmmnnn…how about Elvin versus Guo Liang? Haha.

Tags: Auntie Lucy, Bagua, Bagua TV, BaguaTV, Dai Yang Tian, Dennis Chew, Elvin Ng, Gatekeepers, Guo Liang, MediaCorp, MediaCorp Channel 8, Paul Chan, Paul Chan's blog, Zhang Zhen Huan, Zhou Ying, 周颖, 小兵迎大将, 张振寰, 戴阳天, 郭亮, 黄俊雄

This is probably 戚玉武 Qi Yu Wu’s best TV performance and his best chance with a Best Actor’s nomination at Star Awards 2011!

The new drama ‘The Family Court 走进走出’ will come after the current hit drama ‘最火搭档 Unriddle’ from 1st September. It will star Qi Yu Wu, Tay Ping Hui, Eelyn Kok, Ann Kok, Hong Hui Fang and many other guest stars. The drama will introduce you to a talented new star – Chris Tong 童冰玉.

Promotion for the new drama will kick start tonight with this Qi Yu Wu’s spot and you will see many more of the drama in the coming weeks…

Tags: Ann Kok, Bagua TV, BaguaTV, Constance Song, Eelyn Kok, Hong hui Fang, MediaCorp, Paul Chan, Paul Chan's blog, Qi Yu Wu, Tay Ping Hui, 戚玉武, 童冰玉, 郑斌辉, 郭舒贤, 郭蕙雯

After an extensive search and from hundreds of applicants, eight lucky families have been selected to battle it out in the Family Cook Off kitchen to find out who is the best family of home cooks in Singapore.

Family Cook Off is making its way to the beautiful sands of Palawan Beach Sentosa on the National Day long weekend, to film live on Saturday 7^th and Sunday 8^th August.

As part of the fun, a Family Fun Weekend will be held from 10am through until 4pm each day where there will be lots of fun free activities for the family including face painting, arts and crafts, games, sand sculpting and many prizes and giveaway’s throughout the day. Admission for the Family Fun Weekend is free.

Family Cook Off premieres on MediaCorp TV Channel 8 at 8pm Fridays, from 22 October to 10 December; an Eight-part TV series which will see eight families from Singapore compete against each other in a celebration of cultural diversity.

The series produced by Brand New Media with local production company Beach House Pictures, will be hosted by favourite local MediaCorp artiste Pornsak and well known international host Asha Gill who both share a passion for cooking and Singapore’s diverse range of cuisine.

I know many viewers like Pornsak in his current hit TV show on Ch 8 ‘Food Source 食在好源头’. Family Cook Off will be his next big show after ‘Food Source’ (season ending next week)…

The premise for the competition is simple. In each episode, two families will go head to head in three 20 minute ‘Cook Off’s’ using mandatory ingredients to create their masterpieces. At the end of each cook off, Fay Khoo, renowned food writer and our resident food critic and judge, will taste and score each dish. At the end of the third cook off, the family with the most points wins and will go through to the semi-finals.

Sentosa has been chosen for its fun family atmosphere as the location for filming the series and hosting the Family Fun Weekend. Whether it’s bonding with your family, chilling out with friends, gathering over a scrumptious meal with family, or setting yourself up for adrenalin-pumping action, Sentosa has it all and is the perfect venue for this exciting family cooking competition.

Bonus Video:

Tags: Bagua, Bagua TV, BaguaTV, Family Cook Off, Food Source, MediaCorp, Paul Chan, Paul Chan's blog, Pornsak, 食在好源头

I just watched 5 epsiodes of ‘最火搭档 Unriddle’…and this time, I didn’t even press the fast forward button! Yes, it is that good. How good?

It is very pacy…well crafted story-telling style. I like how each episode begins with the event already taken place but quickly drawing us back into the hours or days just before the event…

陈莉萍 Chen Li Ping is marvellous. There’s one scene when there was no dialogue at all and she was hugging the belongings of her father…that brought tears out of me… This is going to be her most lovable character after her Holland V’s classic role to date! Best Actress nomination again…high chance of a sure-get-in position in the Top 5.

瑞恩 Rui En will surprise many in this role…the Executive Producer commented that Rui En reminded him of the young 邓萃雯 and that is a big compliment. You will be impressed by Rui En who played this character well in the grey area. She is also very blessed to be picked in dramas surrounded by some of the best artistes and that also bought out her best…

郑斌辉 Tay Ping Hui may stand a very big chance to grab that Best Actor trophy from 陈汉玮 Chen Han Wei (acted brilliantly in 五福到 and 我在你左右) for his role in Unriddle. It will be a good fight this time round. You can feel the intensity – his pain, guilt and anger and that he did not even need to express through any exaggerated facial expressions or body language. Just pure 眼神… Though he only appeared in the first 4 episodes (another 3 more towards the finale)…he will leave a very deep impression…

The supporting characters are equally fantastic. 陈邦鋆 Andie Chen has certainly proven that he is on the right track to position himself as a 性格派艺人 since we last saw him in ‘The Little Nyonya’. Wang Yu Qing is a complete different person from his 老飞鱼 role in ‘泳闯琴关 No Limits’. Li Wen Hai, Zheng Ge Ping, Brandon Wong, Joshua Ang, Zhang Wei and Zhou Ying also shine in their small roles. Even those who acted as pimps and thugs, they come alive in their roles… Oh well…I only saw the first 5 episodes and there are many more cameo appearances by other stars to come…

For those who will be watching the preview of episode 1 at the Unriddle event tomorrow with the stars…feel free to pen your reviews and share share here yah…

Tags: Bagua TV, BaguaTV, Brandon Wong, Chen Han Wei, Chen Li Ping, Joshua Ang, Li Wen Hai, MediaCorp, Paul Chan, Paul Chan's blog, Rui En, Tay Ping Hui, Unriddle, Zheng Ge Ping, 最火搭档, 王昱清, 瑞恩, 郑斌辉, 陈汉玮, 陈莉萍