Northlanders: Sven the Returned
Posted by Ernest Kwan | Filed under Uncategorized
So, I was browsing through my favorite comic book store today, Book Fair Comics, and I asked them what is a good series with swords and sandals; lots of blood and gore; countless recollections of pain, suffering, torture; religious controversy, etc… Everything pointed to one series: Northlanders, created by Brian Wood (whom is known for DMZ). I haven’t read it yet, but I did buy the paperback which includes the first 10 issues of the series, so when I get back home from work, I’ll start chomping away at it. But let me assure you the graphic work and the nordic setting is much to be pleased about.
Northlanders: Sven the Returned
L4D Demo: Expert Pwnage
Posted by Ernest Kwan | Filed under Synthetic Interaction
So yeah, just got Left 4 Dead 2 days ago, have been blowing zombie brains out ever since. The game is WICKED awesome! (To learn more about L4D, go to http://www.l4d.com). Anyhow, beating the game in Advance mode was cake for the most part, so my brother and I decided to give EXPERT mode a crack at it (the highest difficulty in the game). Unfortunately, do to the lack of available players at the time, only my brother and I were available to take on the hordes of zombies that infest Mercy city. I played Bill, my brother played Louis, and later, Douglas assumed the role of Zoey. And so our journey begins…
The hospital was cake, period. Only thing we had to be careful of was not to trigger any sirens and create to big of an explosion, which would induce a Zombie Panic (a huge call out to the zombie masses). Even though we did not induce any, expert mode really cranked up the difficulty by unleashing a Zombie Panic anyways, which at several points, overwhelmed us especially when we were out in the open streets from the apartment. My brother was equipped with the submachine gun, while I was equipped with the shotty. Our two PC counterparts were equipped with the same arsenal. The round that had us make it through the end saw us mow down waves of 2 dozen or more zombies, in quick succession. My brother, being the rambo that he is, took point subconsciously, often leading us into a barrage of trigger happy frenzy. Luckily, being the point person also means being the bait, which is exactly how myself and the computer counterparts took advantage of this array. Whenever my brother would get pinned down or smoked, we would allow the zombies to pile up on my bro, and when a critical mass was reached, a dozen slugs swept all of the zombies away, typically in time to save my brother from being ripped apart indefinitely. Unlike the Advance mode, the underground room leading towards the Safe Room is infested with zombies also, but judging from the way its setup, if you have a pipe bomb or molotov, you can easily flush it out before reaching safety…
Exit scene 1, and enter scene 2. The subway is extremely difficult in Expert mode. Not only are the number of zombies doubled if not tripped in every encounter in this scene, but the Tank or the Witch may spawn, and in some cases, both spawn! After losing round after round, our friend Douglas (DarkDays) joined up with us. After losing repeatedly from undisciplined warfare, we decided to pace ourselves more cautiously (we typically get wiped out by a tank or a witch, or from getting lost when the action got a bit too hot). This is where we took a much more tactical approach, which I will explain further. Most importantly, SURVIVAL IS ABOUT CONTROL, its not about ELIMINATION. There are 2 distinct differences between the two 
Unfortunately, we only had 3 human players in the game.
Point - My brother, assuming the same role, was required to do less strafing when charging up front. I would joke to him saying that this is not counterstrike, its one thing to dodge another person’s aim with a gun, but its another thing to dodge a wall of zombies advancing you. After toning down his footwork a bit, he reduced the amount of friendly-fire casualties. Weapon of choice was the submachine gun or the carbine. Reason why? My brother has the best shot, and with a 50 ammo clip, the submachine gun and carbine offer the highest kill % potential if weld by a person with a good aim. Coupled with my brother’s dexterous agility, my brother is quite incredible… Until he has to reload. Which leads us to the importance of the next person…
Suppressor - Douglas throughout played the role of a suppressor. The suppressor’s role was to provide suppressive firepower to the frontlines (aka. my brother), especially when my brother emptied his clip. This was very important as it prevented two things: it prevented the unnecessary unloading of firepower on the same wave of zombies in which one person can easily ward off alone; and secondly, it prevented pin-downs and smokes as when the point person had to reload, the suppressor would step up and continue with the barrage. Weapon of choice again here is some sort of semi-automatic, such as the sub machine gun or the carbine.
Support - The computer played the support. It would randomly follow one of us and provide additional firepower. Only problem is, the computer typically made some newbie mistakes (such as chasing down zombies, saving a soon to be incapitated player, etc). The computer has the aim, just no brains. However, if this person was to be replaced by a human player, this player would typically be supporting the point or the suppressor, depending on the nature of the map. On maps with lots of zombie stacks, it is best this person aid the suppressor, as to provide the party with more endurance. If the map spawns hard mobs but less mobs, it is best this person support the point, as to provide additional spike damage.
Clutch - The clutch is the role I played throughout the game. The clutch hangs in the back typically, and provides a full view of the situation and relays the situation. Should we through a pipe bomb up front? Should we charge? Where do we retreat to? The clutch makes those calls. But more importantly, the clutch serves 2 major tactical actions: 1) Provide cover for the rear as the front advances; 2) Is the last line of defense to the party, and is in charge of saving the other 3 player’s butts! This means rectifying zombie pile ups, and rescue missions. The preferred weapon of choice in my opinion for this person is the pump shotgun, and if available, the automatic shotgun. The shotgun was only used in situations where we were getting swarmed. At all times, it is important to have a full reload, as this person’s main duty was to ensure that zombie swarms do not overwhelm the other 3 player’s suppressive firepower, and in addition, to be prepared to save pinned down players. The shotgun was used typically when a player was pinned down and attracting mounds of zombies. After the zombies are piled up, several controlled shotgun bursts will sweep the zombies away for good, facilitating for a rescue. This person typically hangs silent in the back and lets the rest do most of the work in less stressful situations (providing cover fire), but in stressful situations of life and death, the clutch has to step it up.
The subway is fairly easy, our formation was simple, it was a diamond shaped array when advancing with my brother infront, suppressors on the mid-sides, and the clutch in the rear. When swarmed, this array would would become a T shaped formation, with everyone except the point person hugging a wall or corner. What this allows us to do is that if the point does get pinned down, it allows for the other 3 players to rain down ammo at the stack without falling victim to friendly-fire. Furthermore, in these situations, we were spaced at least 5 yards from each other. This gave us enough distance from each other to localize pile-ups, rather than getting mowed down all at once.
The scene starts off with us jumping down a hole to the subway station. This is pretty easy for the most part, with most of the zombies being cleared before we even exit the gate from the safe room. The next part is fairly straight forward too, usually we encounter a boomer, 1 or 2 hunters, and some smokers from behind. Again, advancing in the diamond-like array works well here as it provides complete 360 coverage.
Once we hit the bottom of the escalators to the ticket booths, if you’re lucky, you may find yourself some nice handy new weapons (carbine, auto shotty, sniper), or, some pipe bombs, or nothing at all. Once we make an exit back to the rail side, this is where we typically get run over by 3-4 waves of zombies, coming from both sides. In this situation, we go T formation, with my brother directing the zombie traffic down to the bottom. We typically have full health up to here. In the worst case scenario, we may run into a tank here, but from the games we played, we did not encounter the tank here.
Once top-side, we advance forward along the lines of crippled subway trains. For the most part, we took cover inside the cabins of the subways, making a standoff from all the varieties of zombies that come our way. In this situation, my brother, Douglas and I were inside, while the stupid computer kept running off on his own. We lost the computer here most of the time. Anyways, same array setup, brother point, Douglass suppressive, and me at the rear. Worked real well, we might lose 20-40hp at this part.
The next part has us advancing to the next set of trains, again same thing, however, this is where we typically encounter a tank. Depending on how lady luck feels, if the Tank pulverizes me first, we are typically okay because Douglas and my bro can shoot him down from range with their sub machine guns. If my brother goes down, its a bit harder, as doing any damage with a shotty at a range is pitiful. We died 2 times when we encountered the tank, drew once (I threw a pipe bomb at the tank and a bunch of zombies, but just before they died, the tank threw an ash tray at me), but the last time, we chopped it down (luckily because the tank went for the computer player, haha). Anyways, the next set of tracks can get pretty freaky, the witch spawned here on us, and also, we induced 3 zombie panics. Good luck finding the queen in the sea of zombies! We made fort in the last subway cabin, and luckily, we survived, though by now, both me and my brother were bleeding to death and limping on 1hp. Douglas was in the red bleeding out still, but was still able to walk right. The end of the tunnel has us taking a flight of steps to the basement of a building. Its all dark here, and depending on the spawn, you may get a tank or a witch here. However, we encountered both the witch and the tank already in the instance, so we knew they were not going to be in the basement. This part is simple though, if the witch does spawn, simply hug the wall and sneak your way past it to the flight of steps that leads to the main floor of the building. If you get a tank, use the pillars to block. If you get a huge zombie infestation, just get the point person to snipe all of them from afar. After 5 minutes of sniping, my brother finally cleared the room and we made our advance to the top-side. Again here, use the point person to snipe everyone from the cramped corridor, as to not draw too much aggro and to take out as many before entering the boiler room. To the right is a pit with a mounted machine gun. But before you go there, make sure you find any molotovs or pipe bombs. Get the point person to man the mounted machine gun, and have the suppressor watch the front and to kill any zombies that gets behind the range of fire of the machine gun. The clutch needs to watch the hole in the pit. Once setup, flip the switch…
Once the message comes up that rescue is coming this way, have the clutch toss a molotov into the hole. This molotov will last about 15-20 seconds which is good enough to catch everything that attempts to come up on fire. But, it won’t kill the zombies, it’ll make them moan and slow them down but thats about it, they will still try to climb up. Just take the shotty and easily pick off the zombies as they come up in droves of 2-3. Always have a reserve of half of your shotty ammo at all times, in case the front side needs help. Therefore, try to use controlled bursts, and only shoot with shotty if you see 2 or 3 of them bunch up together. This way you don’t waste a slug just on a per zombie basis.
On the front side, toss a pipebomb or molotov into the center of the room if you like just to slow down the zombies. My brother did an excellent job with the mounted machine gun, mowing everything that came from the opposite side of the pit. Douglas held the line, and no zombies made it pass into our pit. The molotov ran wore out, but by then, there was only a dozen zombies left coming from the bottom, which were easily picked off with the shotty.
After a 3-4 minute fire frenzy, we cleared the room, we scouted the top of the room, flushed out the balconies of any remaining zombies. We saw the safety room in sight! We limped over there, closed the door, enter the cutscene. w00t!
Fusion Grill (A- ~ 4/5 Stars [3.92/5])
Posted by Ernest Kwan | Filed under Tasteful Epicurean
The 747 Dinner Club begins its Winnipeg dining journey with Fusion Grill. To begin, the restaurant is located on 550 Academy Road at Lanark. The restaurant is quick to point out with its surfs-up exterior decor, with plenty of blues, yellows, and whites to make it stand out amongst the crowd. However, once stepping foot inside, the journey undergoes a complete metamorphosis into a lavishly decorated interior filled with ambient lighting, plenty shades of gray keep it chill, and a industrial-art inspired wine rack that will have you looking back at it more than twice, guaranteed. The monotone interior is vibrantly colored with some canvas paintings provided by local Winnipeg artists. However, beware, if you are claustrophobic, you may find the very cramped dining area to be a bit too “packed” for comfort.
Upon entering, you are treated immediately to your table with a very friendly, casual manner. Given a couple moments to absorb the surroundings, our waitress came to appoint us with something to drink. I ordered their Tequila Caesar (at this rate, I will have a column dedicated to rating the best Caesars in Winnipeg), which is really just a Caesar but uses Tequila instead of Vodka. Upon sampling, it was a unique combination, different, in a very good way. Its not watered down either, so every sip packed a punch that would have even had Caesar himself worried by its potency. Like my other dining adventures, I confess that I am not much of a wine drinker. Therefore, Fusion Grill’s wonderful selection of Canadian wines cannot be examined further by someone such as myself. Notable achievements in this area is their Cuvee Award Distinction for best wine list.
The waitress was very friendly and helpful in getting us familiar with the food menu. Nearly all their creations are made from scratch from ingredients coming from the local markets. Certain items are seasonal. To get our palates going, we had two appetizers:
Crispy grass-fed beef dumplings with garlic sesame noodles and sweet soy dipping sauce / $10.95
Panko crusted pickerel cheeks with Asian pear slaw, lemon parsley pesto, Manitoba golden caviar and crème frâiche / $11.95
The beef dumplings are delicious grounded beef tenderloin, wrapped in a wonton layer and deep-fried to a dry and crispy finish. This is served with a slightly thickened soy sauce, sweetened slightly to avoid saltiness. As good as it was, I felt it was too dry. if they were able to add some cilantro or even a creamy cheese filler with the beef, it would have made the dish a lot lighter and juicier, to bring out the beef flavors much more.
The Panko crusted pickerel cheeks was quite a sight. 6 pickerel cheeks are lightly breaded and cooked to a golden perfection. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures, however, the artistic presentation of this appetizer is phenomonal. The skewered pickeral cheeks float gently over a field of lemon parsley pesto, to the east is a forest of Asian pear slaw which is moderately marinaded in a vinegariette, and to the west, is an ocean of creme fraiche, with a sunset of Golden Manitoba caviar. What a beautiful portrait! The cheeks were excellent, they were cooked just well, and the batter was neither too thick nor too thin. Though my dining associates would disagree that the $11.95 appetizer was not warranted for the dish, I truly beg to differ! (I may have some bias towards this dish as I am a big fan of fish cheeks, and pickerel cheeks for the matter is a rare treat).
For our entrees (which took nearly 45 minutes to prepare),
Marcello had:
Stuffed chicken breast with mustard, butter, rosemary, thyme and basil on a green pea Oka cheese ravioli with carrots & marsala infused demi glace / $21.95
Adrian had:
Grilled grass-fed beef steak and yam frites with tempura mushrooms, green beans and demi-glace / $35.95
I had:
Grilled elk tenderloin with creamed oyster mushrooms, sweet pearl barley, Saskatoon berry gastrique and herb infused demi-glace / $36.95
The stuffed chicken breast, which was slow-cooked with plenty of mustard, butter, rosemary, thyme and basil. The dish itself was very simple, and though the chicken was cooked well, it may have been cooked just a tad bit too well, as the chicken lost its juiciness and was a bit too dry. Add the herbs into the equation, and you’ve got a really dry dish. A creamy wine-based sauce or even a sweet plum-based sauce on the side would have truly brought this dish greater justice, but it was to no avail.
Adrian’s grass-fed beef steak (tenderloin) was a roughly 4-5oz portion, grilled to medium rare and served with yam fries and an assortment of tempuras. The tempura batter had the perfect consistency, as it was light, fluffy, and crispy, but, it was a bit too salty. The yam fries were really good, and you can quickly tell that it was prepared just in time along with the entree and not simply premade on the side and kept warm under a heat lamp. The tenderloin was of a very high grade cut, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it was AAA, however, it was kept very simple, with only some salt sprinkled sparingly on top of it to draw out some of the beef flavours. The au jus in which the tenderloin rests on was also a bit on the light side. Overall, the tenderloin was good.
The elk tenderloin that I ordered was definitely something worth remembering and even going back for. The 4-5oz elk tenderloin is charbroiled to a rare finish, and is served along side a wonderful plethora of creamed oyster mushrooms, sweet pearl barley, Saskatoon berry gastrique and herb infused demi-glace. The tenderloin had a very lovely charbroil aroma to it, and the salty/sour au jus that it is served with perfectly compliments the tenderloin, really drawing out the flavour out of the meat. The mound of sweet pearl barley had a heavenly aura surrounding it, and the feel and taste was an equal match to its sight once in my mouth. The oyster mushrooms (my favorite mushroom) was very nice too, however, I’m not sure if its just me, but why are the oyster mushrooms served at restaurants so small? The ones I buy at the local farmer’s market or even at the groceries are so much bigger. Anyways, overall, the elk tenderloin is highly recommended.
Another dish that I would like to try at my next visit is the Slow roasted Manitoba bison back ribs with spicyFive Star whiskey glaze and garlic smashed potatoes / $29.95. That is one of the things that really stood out at me aside from the Elk Tenderloin.
Aside from the slightly slower service and delivery of our meals, and smaller than average sized portions, the Fusion Grill is highly recommended for those looking for more than just getting their fill. It is evident in how the food is prepared that much time and care is put into the creations. This should be of no surprise as Chef Lorna Murdoch had won silver in the Gold Plates competition in 2006, second to Chef Makoto Uno of Gluttons.
Service: 3.5/5 Stars
Ingredients: 4.5/5 Stars
Environment: 3.5/5 Stars
Culinary Skill: 4.5/5 Stars
Price: 3.5/5 Stars
Uniqueness: 4/5 Stars
Overall: 4/5 Stars (A-) (Detailed Score: 3.92/5)
529 Wellington Review (A- ~ 4/5 Stars [3.67/5])
Posted by Ernest Kwan | Filed under Tasteful Epicurean
A bid farewell to Vinh Pham, friend of nearly 10 years, was an excuse for us to go to one of the most prestigious restaurants in Winnipeg. 529 Wellington is a formal restaurant set in an old contemporary English environment. The facility itself use to be the mansion of a very wealthy Winnipeger. The old cherry oak & mahogany interior is very prominent and provides a very interesting visit to the history of not only the restaurant, but Winnipeg itself. More amazingly, are their endless cabinetry housing some of the finest wine in the world, much of which has never seen daylight. We began with some appetizers, the Long Dry Ribs and beef Carpaccio. The Long Dry Ribs were nice and dry but still succulent. The beef Carpaccio seemed to be an instant favorite with the silky beef marinade, served with toasted wedges and white cheese. I also had a Caesar salad, which was a bit of a disappointment as the Romaine was not very fresh, and lacked the crispiness of fresh Romaine. However, the Caesar sauce was at a right consistency, but was a bit too mild.
John Ho pleased with his New York Steak.
For the main entree, I had a full rack of Lamb (Manitoba), done to rare to medium rare. The dish itself was simple, with the roasted lamb orientated decoratively in circular in a pond of au jus. The meat was extremely tender, and the taste was meaty but not gamey. However, for the most part, the lamb unfortunately was not very flavorable. It may have been juicy and fresh, but it lacked any flavor, even salt. This can be a good or bad thing, depending on whether you want to eat unaltered fresh red meat, or creatively cooked fresh red meat.
After the lamb, I was able to try some Porterhouse that my good ol’ friend Marcello ordered (which he was unable to stomach it all). Like the lamb, the meat is worthy of its premium AAA label. However, much like the lamb, it lacks any “special” taste other than the perfectly aged tenderness.
Rack of Lamb
For sides, we had Sauteéd Wild Mushrooms, Steamed Broccoli, and Chef’s Pontalba Potatoes Diced Red Potatoes, Sautéed with Garlic, Caramelized Onions, Mushrooms,Scallions, and Peppercorn Sauce. The wild mushrooms were a garden mix of Shitake, Portabello, Button, and some Oyster mushrooms. It is prepared in a very light brown wine sauce with some light seasoning. This side could have been prepared better as the mushrooms were simply too soggy and lost much of its “shroominess”, probably from being overcooked. The potatoes were definitely delicious, its unfortunate I’m not much of a potato lover. The broccoli was prepared in your typical fresh steamed manner.
Price-wise, 529 Wellington will definitely empty your wallets. Appetizers range from $10-20, while main entrees will range from $30-60. Seasonal fresh lobsters fetch a hefty $40 per pound. They have no drink menu, but you can have them make any cocktail as you wish. I had myself a Caesar, and it was nothing special. However, they do have an encyclopedia of wine ranging from $50-10,000 a bottle. Dessert ranges from $5-15. Our total bill for 5 rang up to just a bit over $400 before gratuities. Overall, the price is expensive, especially for the food they prepare for you, however, its all about living up to the status quo per say.
Group Shot after the Dinner
In summary, 529 Wellington is definitely an experience like no other in Winnipeg. It is one of very few restaurants that have extremely high standards when it comes to service. When it comes to freshness of ingredients regarding their steaks and lamb, it is truly as they say, PREMIUM. However, it is very distinguishable that 529 Wellington does lack some of the culinary skill that would otherwise truly take its culinary experience to the next level. It is truly unfortunate that Winnipeg does not have any 5 star restaurants, however, 529 Wellington does come close, especially with its ingredient-rich selection. Highly recommended, but don’t expect to be “WOW’d” by the food, as it gets boring real fast. Preferably treat yourself to it on an annual basis.
Service: 4.5/5 Stars
Ingredients: 4.5/5 Stars
Environment: 3.5/5 Stars
Culinary Skill: 3/5 Stars
Price: 3/5 Stars
Uniqueness: 3.5/5 Stars
Overall: 4/5 Stars (A-) (Detailed Score: 3.92/5)
Maggiano’s Little Italy Review (A ~ 4.5/5 Stars [4.33/5])
Posted by Ernest Kwan | Filed under Tasteful Epicurean
Maggiano's Outside
Maggiano’s Little Italy is an Italian-American dining experience that visits the heartful, festive nature of Italian Americans. Originating from Chicago, the chain of restaurants is neither formal nor casual, its simply festive and filled with good heartedness. Stepping into the restaurants feels like a scene from the Godfather. There are plenty of rich hardwood carpeting the floors and walls, and retro lighting to give the restaurant an ambient, warm feeling. Cushy leather seats provide excellent support for the long dining experience. The menu is very simple, with all items listed on one long hardstock paper. Maggiano’s is known for its scratch kitchen, where everything is made from ground up from the ingredient’s simplest forms.
From the pasta, the sauces and the meats, everything is done in-house, so be prepared to experience that tasteful home-made journey. Appetizers range from $8-15 while entrees range from $10-30. A comprehensive wine menu is available upon request.
Dining Area
To begin, I had myself a cup-size Minnestroni soup, but let me assure you, the cup-size is actually a bowl-size that is as large as a bowl at any other restaurant. Upont tasting, my taste buds were jumping with joy as the complete assortment of fresh beans and vegetables, and the scratch soup-base provided a tasteful experience like no other. Being a big soup-lover, I was satisfied. The soup was served with Italian Foccacia bread brushed with garlic butter and toasted to golden brown; dusted with house cheese and parsley. The bread was golden!
For the main course, I had the Mom’s Lasagna, which is composed of multiple layers of rich cottage cheese, grounded beef, and a mixture of melted white cheese, all wedged in a plethora of meat sauce.
Mom's Lasagna
Unlike any other lasagna I’ve tasted before, Mom’s Lasagna literally melts in your mouth upon eating. The ground beef is worked up to such a silky smooth consistency that it provides a mouth-feel like no other. Meanwhile, the meat sauce is totally indicative of the many number of fresh ripe tomatoes have been put into creating the rich-sweet tomato flavor that is hard to find in canned tomato sauces, which are often too sour or too salty. In terms of portion, I barely finished it, it is a massive dish, and for $13, the dish is in my opinion, greatly undervalued.
Dining Table
The dessert menu is somewhat limited, with your typical selection of baked cakes and ice creams. The price of all items are very reasonable, if not a tad undervalued for the quality and amount of food you get. Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Godfather himself opened these chains of restaurants himself. In addition to great meal, service, and environment, the facility is built for large events such as huge banquets with seating capacities in excess of 500. Furthermore, they have a completely separate banquet room area compsed of some 5 or more banquet rooms that seat at least 50 each, to provide some privacy.
Walking down the banquet hall makes you feel like Godfather himself! The bathroom was real nice. It even had an area with a sofa seat (probably for the bodyguard). LOLz!
Service: 4/5 Stars
Ingredients: 4/5 Stars
Environment: 5/5 Stars
Culinary Skill: 4/5 Stars
Price: 4.5/5 Stars
Uniqueness: 4.5/5 Stars
Overall: 4.5/5 Stars (A) (Detailed Score: 4.33/5)
Banquet Hall
Typical Banquet Room with Open Table Array
Typical Banquet Room with Long Table
Fogo de Chão Review (B+ ~ 3.5/5 Stars [3.5/5])
Posted by Ernest Kwan | Filed under Tasteful Epicurean
Fogo De Chão
Fogo de Chão (fo-go dèe shoun) is an unique upscale steakhouse themed after the Gaucho (Brazilian Cowboy) culture from Rio Grande do Sul in Southern Brazil. The chain is popularized in the United States and Brazil. The interior decoration is modern and formal, with plenty of wood accents and complimentary shades of olive and mahogany to provide warmth to the environment. The meal format is buffet style, with a comprehensive salad bar that includes fresh market greens, lightly marinated shitake mushrooms, assorted cured meats, wild smoked salmon, a wide assortment of cheese amongst the typical salads. The main course meats are served upon request, as a server will deliver slices of woodfire meats done to whatever you like it to be, from rare to well.
Bar
To begin, we had the Picanha, a whole sirloin done to rare-medium rare seasoned with sea salt and some garlic. It was very flavorable, and has a strong woodfire taste to it, though it was a tad bit too salty. Next was the Costela beef ribs slow cooked with sea salt. It was extremely tender and juicy, but again was too salty. Next up was the Cordeiro, a lamb leg roast, served as chops. Unlike the other beef cuts, this one was not too salty. Beef ancho was served next, a rib eye cut that was torched to a nice crispy exterior, with a succulent and juicy interior, this was one of my favorites. Next was the Alcatra, a top sirloin cut, again was a bit too salty. I then had some pork rib roast, Costela de Porco. This one was a bit of a disappointment as it was too lightly marinaded and was far too dry, perhaps from being
Salad Bar
overcooked. Pork has always been one of the harder meats to cook due to the fact that it loses a lot of juices from being cooked to well. I then had a chance to have some Filet Mignon, again, the cut is top grade, but it suffers from too much sea salt. I then had some Frango, chicken breast wrapped in bacon, this one was surprisingly very delicious, it was not greasy at all. The one cut that I did not get to try was the Fraldinha, the bottom sirloin cut (a much tougher and less sought after cut of the sirloin).
Filet Mignon
Traditional sides include warm cheese bread, fried bananas, crispy hot polenta and seasoned mashed potatoes. The seasoned mashed potatoes are home-made and mashed to perfection. The fried bananas are a delicious starter to get your appetite going, while the crispy hot polenta cannot be passed upon!
The drink selection is comprehensive but I was unable to sample it because I had to drive back to Winnipeg that same day. Dessert menu is limited.
The price for the meal for lunch is $26 while the dinner fetches $46. There is no difference between the food served at lunch or dinner, so if you want to get the best bang for your buck, it is best to visit there during lunch hours.
Overall, the experience is grande and very satisfying. The food selection is top grade with plenty of variety to keep your curiosity going. The one thing I did not like about the restaurant is that all the meats were very crudely seasoned and marinaded, giving almost every dish the same identical, salty taste to it. This may be a good thing for those that love salt, but for my mild tongue, it can give a very stingy unwanted taste to the buds. The service is welcoming, with plenty of servers to help you along your dining experience, however, it was very difficult to understand what they were saying as not many of them knew how to speak English well. Highly recommended, visit Fogo de Chão for the fine dining experience, and for something quite different.
Service: 4/5 Stars
Ingredients: 3/5 Stars
Environment: 4/5 Stars
Culinary Skill: 3/5 Stars
Price: 3.5/5 Stars
Uniqueness: 3.5/5 Stars
Overall: 3.5/5 Stars (B+) (Detailed Score: 3.5/5)
ATI Radeon 4870X2 Benchmarks Revealed
Posted by Ernest Kwan | Filed under Synthetic Interaction
The folks at Tomshardware have done a preliminary review of the capabilties of the ATI Radeon 4870X2. The following pretty much sums up the findings:
Conclusion
Our first conclusion is that the Radeon HD 4870 X2 manages to achieve its objective—namely to be the best performing card you can buy. It has been a long time coming, and other Radeons have had the same goal but have not been able to attain the same results. Case in point, look at the Radeon HD 3870 X2 which was launched at the beginning of the year. With this model, however, the advantage that the Radeon HD 4870 X2 takes over the GeForce GTX 280 is incontestable. It averages a 25% gain (with a peak at 51% in 2560×1600, plus eye candy) and above all, stays true in all of the games except for Flight Simulator X.
It must be said that the design of the Radeon HD 4870 X2 takes into account the mistakes made with the Radeon HD 3870 X2. The memory capacity has been quadrupled, so that now there is 1 GB of usable memory. Its frequency has not been reduced. The PCI Express controller serving as a bridge between the GPUs supports PCI Express 2.0. And there’s a side-port connection between the GPUs reserved for future use when the PCIe pathway might become saturated.
And thus, Nvidia has finally been beaten and won’t be able to respond in the coming weeks. Considering the size and price of its own GT200 graphics processor, Nvidia is somewhat prohibited from any sort of retaliation based on the same bi-GPU solution.
In short, the Radeon HD 4870 X2 is the newest and fastest 3D card of the moment—25% better on average than the GeForce GTX 280 and up to 51% at the highest resolutions. And if you’re hoping for something in the near future with lower energy consumption, less noise, or a lower price, we’d recommend you not hold your breath.
Editor’s Note: While we were hoping to provide comparison numbers with the 4870 X2 in CrossFire and a pair of 4870s in CrossFire versus the X2, we’ve been somewhat limited by time and troubleshooting in the short time we’ve had the card. Also, the untimely death of our power meter prevented us from measuring consumption here. Keep an eye out for a follow-up story where we compare more elaborate X2 configurations to a higher-end GTX 280 setup.
Get full review at http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/4870-x2-amd,1992.html
Dark Knight Continues with Record Breaking Onslaught
Posted by Ernest Kwan | Filed under Fabricated Reality
The Dark Knight continues to steam roll over previous blockbusters Spiderman 3, Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man’s Chest, and Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith. The following records have been be confimed to be shattered according to Box Office Mojo (http://www.boxofficemojo.com):
Thursday Midnight
One-Day Gross
Two-Day Gross
Three-Day Gross
Four-Day Gross
Five-Day Gross
Six-Day Gross
Fastest to 100 million
Fastest to 200 million
Widest Opening Release
Widest Release
Rated PG-13 Opening Weekends
Opening Weekends July
Opening Weekends Summer
Yearly Opening Weekends 2008
IMAX Widest Release
IMAX Opening Gross
IMAX One-day Gross
As of Tuesday, July 22, 2008, The Dark Knight has reeled in approx. $203,773,518 domestically, and approx. $41,300,000 in foreign markets. The Dark Knight has yet to be released in major regions internationally and in Europse until this weekend. The success is suspected to resonate all around the globe.
Iron Man Review (A- ~ 4/5 Stars)
Posted by Ernest Kwan | Filed under Fabricated Reality
Iron Man is Marvel’s answer to DC’s Batman. Tony Stark is billionaire industrialist/playboy that inherited his father’s billion-dollar company, Stark Enterprises. Tony Stark is played by Robert Downey Jr. a very talented actor that brings Tony Stark to life. This movie is an origin story about how Iron Man came to be, and throughout the movie, we follow Tony’s journey of building his once cold character into one of compassion, and most importantly, the design, engineering, and fabrication of his Iron Man prototype suits. The movie has Iron Man fighting terrorists, the US Navy, and most importantly, Iron Monger (whom is Obadiah Stane, played by Jeff Bridges, Stark’s right-hand man in the financial operations of Stark Enterprises). For comfort, Tony seeks the comfort of his long-time maid, Pepper Potts, whom is played by Gwyneth Paltrow. She’s pretty hot, but a total stiff in the movie unfortunately. To aid Tony is long time friend James “Rhodey” Rhodes, played by Terrence Howard, whom does a great job at the character.
The movie displays some, if not the best visual effect I’ve seen since Lord of the Rings. Watching Ironman soar through the sky, rip through rockets and jets, and crash land was simply breathtaking. Blooper shots of Tony learning how to navigate whilst in the suit was also entertaining. In general, this is the best comic book adapation that Marvel has had thus far.
The sound effects were very real too, but the score was lacking. There weren’t that many memoriable scenes in the movie, as the audience is mostly boggled down with the making, testing and deployment of the Iron Man suit.
The one problem with Iron Man however, is that even though Robert Downey Jr. does an excellent portrayal of Tony Stark, he is a bit old, and a tad small/short to be Tony. Furthermore, the movie seemed very compressed with regards to the dialogue, several scenes for instance, simply blacked out without any follow-up. Other than that, the movie was extremely enjoyable, which sums up my review on Iron Man, its fun, brainless reckless fun as a matter of fact, but, it earns itself a nice juicy 4/5 stars, it definitely packs that punch, but lacks the depth more commonly recognized in Nolan’s reboot of the Batman franchise.
Genre: Action/Adventure
Starring: Robert Downey, Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard, Shaun Toub, Gwyneth Paltrow
Screenwriter: Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matthew Holloway
Producer: Avi Arad, Kevin Feige
Composer: Ramin Djawadi
Dark Knight Review (A ~ 4.5/5 Stars)
Posted by Ernest Kwan | Filed under Fabricated Reality
Before I begin with this review, let me tell you that I spent the past 12+ hours thinking deeply exactly how to score this movie. I am a very big fan of Batman, and he has been my favorite for God knows how long, but let me make it clear that I am very critical and I try to be as objective as possible with my analysis and breakdown of a movie. So, without further adieu, the review…
The Dark Knight is the much awaited sequel to Batman Begins, both of which are directed by the unorthodox director, Christopher Nolan, best known for his Oscar-nominated feature, Memento. Dark Knight picks up where Batman Begins left off where a chaotic evil clown that goes by the name Joker, whom is played by Heath Ledger, is wreaking havoc in the now very tamed underworld of Gotham City. The mob have been shaken out of Gotham slowly over the year, thanks to our crime detective/fighter, Batman played by Christian Bale, and a growing number of “good” people of Gotham that are standing up for justice. Such includes Bruce Wayne’s lover/childhood friend, Rachel Dawes played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, and the new District Attorney, Harvey Dent, played by Aaron Eckhart.
Mob, citizen, or freak alike, the Joker does not discriminate. Instilling his anarchist ideals into the soul of Gotham through carnage, destruction, and slaughter. Heath Ledger does a magnificent job in really bringing out the psychotic nature of the Joker, striking fear into all that comes across him. Its not as much as his makeup that is scary, nor his sketchy, jittery voice, but an all encompassing performance that will have you walking out of the theater “thinking” about the terror that lingers in all of us. Each revelation of Joker engrains that deep, dark afterthought that will have you lose some of your sanity!
Aaron Eckhart does an above average job at tackling the role of Harvey Dent (aka. The White Knight). The new hope of Gotham, Dent is the face of justice for Gotham. His performance can be described as hardy, tough (in one scene, he KTFO a court witness that attempts to blow his head off with a toy gun), and cold. The later is important in his character development for he later becomes Two-Face. The one thing I didn’t like about this character was the coin-flip. The coin flip plays an important role in Two-Face’s character, and it seems that Nolan’s artistic direction with regards to this was a bit lacking, as Dent appeared throughout to be somewhat incapable of flipping a coin well.
Maggie Gyllenhaal replaces Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes, ADA of Gotham City. She’s as tough as ever, but with more maturity, and is a lot more “open” then before. She’s caught in a love triangle between long-time child friend, Bruce Wayne, and DA Harvey Dent. Maggie does a great job in slipping into character, but unfortunately, the character itself feels somewhat out of place, perhaps due to the inconsistent casting between Begins and TDK.
Ah, alas we have Christian Bale, the Bat Man, as Joker would say. Christian Bale is an exceptional actor, and is the best Batman in my opinion. His portrayal of billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne is natural and convincing; while his portrayal of Batman is dark and very demanding. Unfortunately, Bale gets thrown a lot of one-liners in this movie just as he did in Begins, which I am mildly disappointed as Bale does not get that chance at the spotlight to show off his awesome acting skills. But, as a fan, I can’t really blame him nor Nolan, as the movie TDK is not about Batman as the protagonist, rather it is about 3 anti-heroes, Batman, Dent, and Joker all struggling to find a home for their freakish natures.
Morgan Freeman returns as Lucious Fox, whom does a wonderful job as the all new CEO of Wayne Enterprises and Applied Sciences expert. He helps Bruce build a new bat suit that is much more flexible, but sacrifices some armor protection. Nonetheless, the new Bat suit is a modest upgrade of the old rubber suit. But don’t expect Batman to do any roundhouse kicks anytime soon, he’s still fairly mobile! In addition to the bat suit upgrade, Fox and Bruce develop a new assault bike called the bat pod. It is one helluva speed demon, and whats even cooler is its part of the Tumbler.
The score is excellent, just as it was in the first, but at times, there were lots of dead moments where there was no music at all playing in the background. I feel that this caused certain scenes to drag out a little longer, which is quite common for a movie of this length with so many plots and plot twists converging into one.
The fight scenes, is a big improvement over Begins. The action is much more visible, if not slowed down on purpose at some points, unfortunately, Batman doesn’t haven’t many moves other than his Bat Chops. Also, I felt that the fighting techniques used were kind of weak (for instance, Batman would chop someone’s shoulders and next thing you know it, the goon would be going into a seizure).
The action was explosive. Be prepared to witness explosion after explosion after explosion. When the Joker is not cutting up someones face, he’s blowing something up, or burning something down. Best of all, the minimal use of CGI special effects really gave the movie a very authentic real-life feel to it.
The movie runs a lengthy 2 hours and 32 minutes, so be certain to get a good nights rest (or days rest) before viewing. The production value is beyond amazing, but the production quality does need some fine touching. The movie can feel a bit disorientated or inconsistent at times, but again, these are just little imperfections that do not really add up to much. If you were able to get a good consistent experience from watching The Departed, you will enjoy this movie very much as TDK pans out in a very similar fashion.
As I mentioned before, there are multiple plots in this movie, similar to the way Memento was played out. This can be quite demanding on the viewer, as the viewer has to pay extra attention to not miss a single detail. Missing a detail can result in the misinterpretation of the movie. Unfortunately, TDK does not tie up all the loose ends of all the plots, so what the viewer is left with at the end is a very anti-climatic experience. Throughout the whole movie, Nolan is prepping you up for the big exam, but alas, he saves the final chapter of the notes for the next class. Which has one questioning, what card does Nolan have up his sleeves for the finale? I give The Dark Knight a generous 4.5/5 Stars, and it knocks down Batman Begins from the 2nd spot of my all time fav, as TDK now takes the 2nd spot and Begins takes my 3rd spot.
Genre: Action/Adventure
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Caine
Screenwriter: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan
Story: Christopher Nolan, David S. Goyer
Producer: Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan
Composer: Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard