Rajan's View

Tribute to The Saint This is a tribute long overdue. To the movie and one of my favorite actors - Val Kilmer. He’s had many successful movies, but perhaps a favorite of mine is “ The Saint ” from 1997. And, the luminescent Elizabeth Shue provides an apt foil for Val Kilmer. In keeping with the namesake in the movie, the original soundtrack for the movie by Graeme Revell is medieval and atmospheric. In a recent interview, the “Past Lives” actress Greta Lee describes Val Kilmer in this movie being one of her early inspirations. While the movie “The Saint” is not seen as a critical or commercial success, if it inspired a brilliant actress, who can complain. In the movie, Val disguises himself after Catholic saints. As a "Saint Head", something I always wanted to understand a bit more, a background of all the Catholic saints that crop up in the movie.  Simon Magus Val Kilmer as the character “Simon, The Magician” Simon Magus is a controversial figure in Christian history. He is...

Overview  As customers, we shop with various brands (i.e. labels, retailers and ecommerce marketplaces). Once, we grow comfortable with certain bands, we tend to interact more frequently with them. In today's channel-less world, this interaction takes various forms - visiting stores, following the social media updates for inspiration, searching/browsing online in the apps and last but not the least talking to customer service. However, despite all the "breadcrumbs" we leave behind with the brand, the experience often leaves us wanting more. On the other hand, brands are increasingly wanting to know and understand about their customers. Various attempts are made at "personalizing" the experience. This is mainly along three pillars below - Elevating service in physical touchpoints such as stores Loyalty programs to incentivize repeat purchases Seeking out patterns in data from products, services, channels and customers Out of the the above 3, #1 and #2 can be expe...

Singapore Inspired Chilli Chicken If you are living in Singapore, inevitably one gets to try the various hawker centers . The trademark style of many of the stalls is various cuisines, all cooked fresh. And, there is a hint of different cultures like - Chinese, Malay, Indian, Indonesian, Thai and Vietnamese in the food and the cooking styles. Inspired by the cooking style, this is a simple recipe to make chilli chicken. It can be had as a starter/appetizer, finger food for drinks or even mixed to plain soba / rice noodles as a garnish.  The recipe is a bit of a shortcut, utilizing the ready made sauces and pastes that are available from the supermarkets. Contributed by  Rajan Manickavasagam . Published  30. September 2023 Chilli Chicken garnished with Coriander Ingredients 2 Chicken breast pieces 1 cup of Ris Red Chilli Sauce 1 cup of Riverina Garlic, Chilli, Ginger paste 1 bunch of chopped Coriander leaves 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil Salt (to taste) Instructions Dice ...

  Lights and Dreams  I drink in your sight, Along with bursts of morning light. As the shadows disappear, Our dreams appear. A short poem inspired by the haiku format.

Overview  As the FairPrice group in Singapore completes 50 years, "The Price of Being Fair" book is a timely story of it's birth and evolution. The book has been authored by Sue-Ann Chia and Shing Huei Peh. While being true to history, the book has nuggets of "behind the scenes" information, given the time the authors have spent with various leaders at FairPrice. The book is already a best seller according to Kinokuniya book store. At under 200 pages, it makes for a breezy read. The Usual Suspects Having worked in retail industry for over two decades, the travails of  NTUC FairPrice seem familiar to me. A retail CEO once remarked that retail is a pretty "public" industry. There is not much behind which a retail business can hide. As such, retailers often have to follow the aspirations and concerns of the communities and customers they serve. The journey of FairPrice from being an EDLP (everyday low price) retailer to one having multiple formats, busin...

Together  I see the sun set in you eyes. A sky full of stars, fills my sight. A short poem inspired by the haiku format.

Roast Chicken In some parts of the world, December is the time of holidays and colder weather.  During this time, it's nice to have a sumptuous and healthy meal. Here is a fairly simple recipe for roast chicken. The ingredients should be available everywhere. Contributed by  Rajan Manickavasagam . Published  19. December 2021 Roast Chicken with Spiced Pomegranate Juice Ingredients Salt (to taste) Crushed black pepper  1 Pomegranate 12-15 peeled baby potatoes 2 Onions 2 Carrots 2 Red Bell Peppers 6 Chicken thigh pieces 10 tablespoons of olive oil 1 tablespoon of garam masala 1 tablespoon of Kashmiri red chilli powder 1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar 1/2 teaspoon baking soda Instructions Roast Chicken Peel and blend 1 pomegranate in a blender without adding any water. Divide the pomegranate juice into 2 cups/portions. To on one of the portions, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, pepper, 2 tablespoons garam masala and 1 tablespoon Kashmiri red chilli powder. Coat the chi...